Write a meeting recap without inventing a decision.

Choose the evidence you will use

Start with notes or a transcript you are allowed to use. Keep their date and the meeting name beside the draft. If you use an assistant, supply that material rather than asking it to reconstruct the discussion from a short topic label.

Write the output structure before generating anything: decisions, actions, open questions and context. A section can be empty. “No decision recorded” is more useful than a confident sentence that fills the space with a guess. The structure is our suggested workflow, not a guarantee of an accurate model response.

Do not promote a suggestion into a commitment

Fictional meeting note: “Ravi suggested trying the new form next month. Mina asked whether support had time to review it. The group agreed to ask support for an estimate. No launch date was chosen.”

A weak recap says: “The team will launch the form next month. Mina will handle support.” It turns a proposed trial into a launch and invents an owner. Neither statement appears in the note.

A closer recap says: “Decision: request a support review estimate. Open question: whether a trial next month is feasible. No launch date or action owner was recorded.” It is less neat, but someone can act on it without inheriting a false commitment.

Give each action three checks

For each action, look for the task, an explicitly assigned person and an agreed date. If one is missing, mark it unassigned or not agreed. Do not infer ownership merely because someone spoke about the topic.

Where the wording matters, keep the source location alongside the draft. “Check near minute 18” or a note heading is enough for a colleague to find the passage. Check the passage yourself: a timestamp provided by an assistant is not evidence until it points to the relevant statement.

Ask a small clarification before distributing

If an action is necessary but incomplete, ask the meeting organizer to confirm that item through the normal work process. Keep the draft marked as a draft until the uncertainty is resolved or visibly retained.

Do not remove context that changes the meaning of a decision. An approval for a limited trial is different from approval to deploy to every customer. A date described as a target is different from a deadline accepted by the team.

A recap structure to reuse

• Decisions: agreed outcomes, with their limits.
• Actions: task, confirmed owner and confirmed date; mark gaps.
• Open questions: what still needs a choice or evidence.
• Context: the reason or constraint that makes the decision intelligible.
• Review: compare important statements with the source before sharing.

Use this next

• Check a summary against its source
• Write a brief before the prompt