Creating manual minutes in meetings can be a stressful and laborious task.

That’s true until you discover that you might automate the whole process.

Instead, use or create a template.

Word for the Web with ‘Meeting minutes’ typed into the search.

To access these inWord for the web, typeMeeting Minutesinto the search bar, and press Enter.

Then, poke the “Templates” tab to see the many options available.

Creating a new template can take time, so confirm you do this in advance of your first meeting.

Word for the Web’s meeting minutes templates, accessed through the Templates tab.

Open a blank Word document, and design your template according to your requirements.

The template will now be available when you open a new Word document.

Let’s look at each of these options.

Microsoft Word’s document search with ‘Meeting Minutes’ typed into the search box.

Uploading an Audio File

To do this, click “Upload Audio” in the Transcribe pane.

Locate the audio file and click “Open.”

However, this automation process saves significant time in your workflow.

A How-to Geek meeting minutes template in Microsoft Word.

Once the process is complete, you will see the transcription in the Transcribe pane.

Take a moment to amend the speakers' names so it’s clear who said what.

To do this, first smack the pencil icon next to one of the speakers.

Word’s Save As window with the document titled Meeting Minutes Template, the file type changed to Word Template, and the Save button highlighted.

you could also smack the pencil icon to amend the transcribed text within the Transcribe pane.

From there, click “AutoCorrect Options.”

you could then use these shortcuts when typing or editing the meeting minutes before distribution.

The Meeting Minutes Template showing as an option in Microsoft Word when a new document is being created.

Finally, useWord’s highlighter toolto emphasize any important notes within the minutes.

I like to use yellow for action points and green for deadline dates.

The Upload Audio button is highlighted in the Transcribe pane of the Word app.

The window that appears after clicking Upload Audio in the Transcribe pane in Word. The audio file is selected and ‘Open’ is highlighted.

A Microsoft Word document with automatically transcribed text appearing from an audio file in the Transcribe pane.

The speaker’s name is changed to Rob, and the Change All Speaker 1 checkbox is checked.

The Transcribe pane in Word with the speakers' names changed to Rob and Mary.

The Microsoft Word transcription options available after clicking Add To Document.

The Transcribe pane in Word with the Start Recording button highlighted.

The Word Options dialog box with Proofing and AutoCorrect Options highlighted.

Word’s AutoCorrect dialog box with ‘AI’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ presented as an example, and the Add and OK buttons highlighted.

Word’s Transcribe pane with the timestamps highlighted.

Meeting minutes in Microsoft Word with headings.

A Word document with the highlighter tool indicated and opened.