What is a Sammari meeting and how does it differ from other forms of outcomes?

The Sammari of the meeting is a summary of its contents. It usually records the main conclusions from the discussions, as well as the formulated tasks.

Dozens of topics can be discussed during one production meeting, and many decisions on various issues can be made. With the increasing frequency and complexity of meetings, it can be difficult to keep track of everything that was discussed.

Without careful documentation, some important information can easily be lost. Taking notes allows you to manage details without missing any of them.

Meeting summaries help team members agree on goals and ensure that everyone understands what they need to do. Acting as landmarks, they are especially useful for those who could not attend the meeting. Finally, meeting summaries can promote transparency and accountability in an organization.

Sammari is easier to do using AI: it saves time as well as human resources. If there is no summarizing device at the enterprise yet, you can create a resume manually. Below are recommendations on how to do this more effectively.

Differences between meeting summaries and other formats

Summary

Literally translated from English, summary means summary. This term is usually used to briefly describe a business meeting. Sammari records only the main points of the conversation: questions, decisions on them, responsible persons. All the details of what is happening during the meeting are omitted: the exchange of opinions, unplanned speeches, the results of the voting. But this is just one of the formats for recording meetings.

Protocol

This is a more detailed description format. Keeping minutes is required for official meetings, board meetings, or legal purposes.

It usually includes all the details: the names, positions of the speakers, the main thoughts of their speeches, the essence of the discussions, opinions, arguments, and voting results.

The logging format is selected when the meeting:

• includes important decisions, contracts, or official resolutions;
• It needs an official legal formalization of the discussions;
• It is conducted with external stakeholders, such as customers or regulatory authorities.

Meeting minutes provide a more formal, detailed account of the meeting, ensuring that all legal as well as procedural requirements are met.

Minutes of the meeting:

• it is created during the meeting;
• it is comprehensive and detailed;
• corresponds to the formal structure;
• It may include transcripts, official resolutions.

Resume

This is also a variant of the description of the meeting. It is more detailed than sammari (it includes more details, for example, justification of decisions, brief context of speeches), but less detailed than the protocol. Meeting summaries promote transparency in the team: they help keep everyone informed, preventing misunderstandings.

The head resorts to the resume format when:

• he wants to keep his team up to date without overloading it with unnecessary details;
• holds a relatively informal meeting, such as a brainstorming session;
• A meeting is a short consultative event designed to resolve a specific issue, discuss a problem that has arisen, or get background information on actions as well as solutions on the ground.

In such situations, a resume provides the perfect balance between brevity and clarity.

Distribution of meeting summaries:

• it allows you to quickly communicate the most important information, which increases the effectiveness of internal communication;
• helps to monitor the completion of tasks assigned to team members;
• It allows you to make more informed decisions, providing everyone with access to the same information.

A resume is created based on the results of the meeting (flyers). It should:

• be well structured;
• to summarize the main points;
• Easy to read and digest;
• underline action points as well as solutions.

It is usually sent to interested parties by e-mail so that those who:

• They were not present, they could quickly find out what happened;
• Those present did not forget about the tasks and specific responsibilities assigned to them.

The transcript

This is a verbatim recording of oral speech. It is produced using a system of special signs that allow you to record speech at a speed of 60-70 words per minute. Transcripts are being used less and less often, but they have not yet gone completely into the past. For example, they are also used during investigative actions (along with other means of recording what is happening), and they may also be required as an appendix to the minutes of particularly important meetings, where every word of the speakers is important. If a transcript is kept during the meeting, then the protocol can be drawn up later, without missing a single detail.

When conducting regular business meetings, meetings and daily flyers, the resume format is more often used.

The main elements of the resume

A qualitative description should cover the most important information of the meeting, as well as provide an overview allowing participants and stakeholders to understand what was discussed and what decisions were made. It should also be clear, concise, easy to read and include:

• title, goal, date, time;
• the list of participants, as well as missing members of the team;
• list of topics for discussion;
• decisions taken on each issue;
• actions indicating responsible persons and deadlines for the execution of orders;
• steps to be taken at the end of the meeting;
• the time of the next scheduled meeting.

Step-by-step instructions for making a resume

Step 1. Preparation

1. Make sure that you have all the necessary tools at hand for taking notes: a pen, a notebook, a laptop.
2. Specify the agenda in advance.
3. If you plan to discuss issues related to assignments received at previous meetings, it is advisable to raise previous entries and clarify the details.

Step 2. Actively listening and taking notes

If you have permission to write, this is even better, as manual note-taking can be time-consuming and sometimes leads to inaccurate or incomplete notes.

If there is no permission, then start with the basic information:

• state the name of the meeting clearly;
• specify the date, time, and venue;
• make a list of those present and absent (this can be done by passing a piece of paper around so that each of those present enters their name);
• add a brief statement about the purpose of the meeting to set the context.

Step 3. Highlight the main points

Do not rely entirely on what you will have time to write down. During the meeting itself, keep a close eye on what is happening, listen, delving into the essence of the speeches. This will help you formulate your thoughts briefly later. Summarize the main points, try to write in simple language:

1. Review of the agenda: purpose, main issues.
2. Highlight the most important topics of discussion.
3. Clearly state all the decisions made during the meeting.
4. List the elements of actions and responsible persons.
5. Try to make the review as brief as possible, without going into unnecessary details.
6. List the tasks that must be completed before the next meeting, indicating the responsible persons and deadlines.
7. Describe the important decisions you have made.
8. Highlight all the key decisions made during the meeting, as well as their justifications.

Step 4. Adding Action Elements

Although the description should be brief, it should include the details necessary to clearly understand all the issues raised: no team member should have doubts or misunderstandings about assignments, dates, responsibilities. Details are necessary to avoid confusion.

Organize the information by linking decisions to the relevant agenda items, and tasks to deadlines and responsible persons.

Step 5. Making the main conclusions

No matter how well the summary is written, there should be a note or a section of the main conclusions at the bottom of it. This short part will include completed tasks and team members.

Step 6. Attaching supporting documents 

This item is optional. However, if presentations, spreadsheets, reports, and client briefings were presented during the meeting, it is better to add them in the form of supporting documents or links. They will make the concept clearer, make it easier for team members to access the necessary resources and guarantee timely completion of tasks.

Step 7. Proofreading, making edits

Read the resume carefully and make sure that:

• it is written competently, consistently, logically;
• the text accurately reflects what was discussed during the meeting;
• all the important points of the discussions are included in the text, and the details are true and correct.

If you have doubts about facts, figures, dates or other information, pick up your notes and double-check the information. If there are violations in the logic or sequence of events, correct it. Make sure that the text remains simple, clear, crisp, and concise.

Step 8. Sending resumes to interested parties

After the resume is polished, send it to all participants, as well as to those who were absent from the meeting, and to everyone who needs to be informed. Do this as quickly as possible while employee motivation is high. Make sure that everyone who needs to know about the meeting and its details is on the mailing list.

Common mistakes

1. Excessive or insufficient detail. The excess of details makes the text heavy, confusing, and difficult to understand, which reduces its usefulness. Too generalized, on the contrary, may become incomprehensible due to the lack of clarification. When writing a resume, it is important to keep a balance between excessive and insufficient detail.
2. Inconsistent format. This flaw can also cause difficulties in reading the text.
3. There are no deadlines or those responsible for the tasks. This is a serious flaw, as a result of which employees do not perform their tasks. The absence of deadlines and names of responsible persons actually makes the document useless.
4. Belated mailing list. The later the letters with the text are sent out, the lower the motivation of employees, since the effect of the sharpness of the discussions has been blunted.

Tips to help improve your resume

Best practices for writing meeting summaries

The following 10 best practices for writing meeting summaries can make your documents even better.

Use them to turn this often overlooked task into a powerful communication tool.

1. Use a template. Its application:
   • it will save time;
   • guarantees the safety of all important information;
   • standardizes the appearance of a company resume.

You can use Google Docs or Microsoft Word templates, or use a more creative AI–based version – Notion.

2. Keep it short:
   • avoid verbatim transcriptions;
   • Focus only on what is really important;
   • summarize the main points of the discussion;
   • clearly indicate the points of action.
3. Keep an objective tone:
   • write impartially;
   • present the facts;
   • avoid inserting personal opinions, interpretations, or complicated jargon.
4. Use the power of subheadings and bulleted lists. Divide the text into sections, for example: Decisions taken, Action points and Next steps. Bulleted lists will highlight important information for quick viewing.
5. Leave the spaces. Include them in short paragraphs, line spacing, and margins. This will make the text visually simpler and easier. It will be easier for the reader to understand the essence.
6. Attach supporting documents. Although this point is considered optional when writing a resume, it is better not to miss it. Any visual materials discussed should be available for viewing by the team’s shuttles. In addition, it is advisable to make a brief description of each document so that those who view the text after a while can easily find the information they are interested in.
7. Send the text of the meeting description in a timely manner: ideally within 24 hours, while the discussions are still in the focus of attention of the participants. For the same reason, it is better to decipher and draft the text immediately after the meeting.
8. Feedback from colleagues. To hone the resume format, it is recommended to discuss each description with colleagues. Select those who were directly involved in the meeting, as their ideas will be the most relevant. Ask specific questions, for example:
   • was something important missed;
   • is the neutral tone preserved;
   • is the text easy to read?
9. Set a uniform description format. Standardization will make it easier for the responsible person to fill out the document, as well as for team members to find information. It is best if the template is developed collectively, then it will meet the general needs of your organization.

Automation Tools

With the help of the service developed by FollowUp, you can significantly simplify the work of compiling sammari. AI Secretary:

• transcribes the conversation;
• it will fix tasks, deadlines, and agreements;
• He will send the sammari to all participants.

Transcription accuracy exceeds 98%, while all important details of the negotiations are 100% preserved.

The service works successfully in such industries as:

• trading;
• education;
• designing;
• consulting;
• recruiting;
• marketing;
• management.

The use of an AI secretary guarantees confidentiality: the service is hosted in a reliable FollowUp data center, and information is transmitted through secure channels in accordance with federal law No. 152. If necessary, Follow up engineers will refine the service to meet the needs of your company, as well as help with its integration or develop a special protocol for the needs of individual departments.

Conclusion

So, you have received a comprehensive guide for writing a sammari meeting or a more detailed version of it – a summary. Step-by-step instructions, combined with tips on how to write better, will enhance the professional skills of the person involved in writing meeting descriptions, and will allow the team to remain organized and focused.

However, one should not neglect the capabilities of software developed on the basis of artificial intelligence. It:

• instantly decodes speeches, conversations, conversations;
• defines the action elements;
• generates a resume in seconds;
• leaves the team more time to solve strategic tasks.