Meeting-to-Memo

What this is for

The meeting ended an hour ago, three people already have different memories of what was decided, and nobody wrote anything down. This turns a transcript or recording into a memo that settles the record before it gets rewritten by whoever emails first.

Before you start

• Get the transcript. If you don't already have one recorded, see the tool list below before your next meeting.
• Have the transcript as a text file or pasted block — most tools export one automatically once the meeting ends.

Where transcripts come from

• Otter.ai: Connect your calendar once in Otter settings; it auto-joins and transcribes meetings, then exports from the meeting page as .txt or .docx.
• Granola: Runs locally during the call, no bot joins the meeting. After the call, open the note in Granola and click "Copy transcript."
• Microsoft Teams: Meeting organizer turns on "Record and transcribe" before starting. Afterward, open the meeting in Teams calendar → Recap tab → download transcript.
• Zoom: Enable cloud recording with transcription in Settings → Recording before the call. After, go to Zoom web portal → Recordings → the meeting → Audio Transcript, download as .vtt or .txt.

If your meetings are consistently one platform, turn on auto-transcription by default rather than remembering each time.

The memo prompt

Either model — Claude if the transcript is long, since it holds more text in context without truncating.

ROLE: You are an executive assistant turning a meeting transcript into a
one-page decision memo.
CONTEXT: Below is the raw transcript from a meeting about [TOPIC, e.g.
"Q3 hiring plan"]. Attendees: [NAMES OR ROLES, e.g. "me, VP Sales, VP
Eng, Finance lead"].
TRANSCRIPT:
[PASTE FULL TRANSCRIPT]
CONSTRAINTS:
- Only record a decision if the transcript shows actual agreement, not
  just discussion. If people talked about something but didn't decide,
  put it in Open Questions, not Decisions.
- For every decision, name an owner. If the transcript doesn't state one
  clearly, write "owner unclear — needs confirmation" rather than
  guessing who it was.
- Include a section for what was implied but never said outright — for
  example, if two people hesitated on a date or a budget number without
  objecting out loud, that's worth surfacing, not smoothing over.
- Do not editorialize on whether decisions were good ones.
OUTPUT FORMAT: One page with four sections — Decisions Made (with owner
and date for each), Open Questions, Implied But Not Said, and Next
Meeting or Deadline (if mentioned).

The follow-up prompt: drafting the send-out email

Either model, using the memo output from above.

ROLE: You are drafting the email that sends this decision memo to
attendees.
CONTEXT: Here is the memo: [PASTE MEMO FROM ABOVE]. Recipients: [LIST,
e.g. "same attendees plus my manager, who wasn't on the call"]. Tone
should be neutral and factual — this is a record, not a pitch.
CONSTRAINTS: Open with the single most important decision, not a
recap of the whole meeting. Keep the email itself short — the memo is
the attachment or the body below the fold, not the opening paragraph.
If anyone who wasn't on the call is receiving this, add one sentence of
context they'd need that attendees wouldn't.
OUTPUT FORMAT: A subject line and an email body under 150 words, with
the full memo pasted below a line break for reference.

Where this goes wrong

• The AI records a "decision" that was really just the loudest opinion in the room. Transcripts don't capture who actually had authority to decide. Read the Decisions section against your own memory before sending — cut anything that wasn't really settled.
• Owners go unassigned and nobody notices until the deadline passes. If the prompt flags "owner unclear," don't leave it that way in the final memo — ping the room or decide yourself before it goes out.
• You send the memo to everyone who was on the call and stop there. The people who need the decision most are often the ones who weren't in the room. Check your recipient list against who's actually affected, not just who attended.

The 2-minute version

Export the transcript from Otter, Granola, Teams, or Zoom. Paste it into the memo prompt. Check decisions and owners against your own memory. Run the follow-up prompt and send same day.

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