# Session 2 Handout: Meetings

<p class="meta">FAST-04 AI Productivity with Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini · 7formations · Instructor: Wadood Chaudhary · All examples fictional</p>

## Why this session matters

A good recap turns a meeting into action. A bad one assigns work to the wrong person, records a decision nobody made, or moves a deadline, and everyone trusts it because "the AI took the notes." This session covers what to ask for, when transcription is appropriate, and how to verify every line.

## Key concepts

### 1. What to ask for

| Section | Content | Common error |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Decisions | Only items explicitly agreed | Items that were *discussed* recorded as decided |
| Action items | Owner, action, due date | Wrong owner (the person who raised it, not the one who took it); wrong or vague date |
| Open questions | Raised, not resolved | Omitted or turned into decisions |

Name the reader (team, manager, client) and keep it short: short recaps are easier to check. Add: "If an owner or date wasn't stated, write 'not stated.'"

Tools: Copilot in Teams (recap and in-meeting questions, typically needing transcription or recording on) and Gemini in Meet ("Take notes for me," which creates a notes doc). Availability depends on license and admin settings.

### 2. Transcription and consent

- Transcripts and recordings are **business records**: they can be retained, searched, and reviewed.
- **Massachusetts** prohibits secretly recording conversations (G.L. c. 272, §99). Make sure everyone knows and agrees, and follow your employer's policy. *Training, not legal advice.*
- Typically off-limits: HR and disciplinary meetings, legal matters, sensitive customer conversations, anything with health information.
- When in doubt, take manual notes. The assistant can structure your notes into decisions, owners, and dates if policy allows.

### 3. Verifying the recap

For every line: find it in the transcript or your notes. Mark it:

**Correct** · **Wrong owner** · **Wrong date** · **Discussed, not decided** · **Not in meeting**

Convert relative dates ("Thursday," "next week") to calendar dates. Send only the checked version.

### 4. From recap to tasks

Turn actions into tasks in Planner/To Do (Microsoft) or Google Tasks, with owner, due date, and a link back to the recap. Confirm the owner agreed. Don't assign tasks to people who weren't there without asking. Review open tasks at the next meeting.

## Worked example: Merrimack Freight ops meeting (Mon Oct 5)

| AI recap line | Mark | Evidence | Correction |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Decision: add a second truck to Nashua | Discussed, not decided | "No decision until we see quotes" | Open question; action: Priya quotes by Wed Oct 7 |
| Decision: freeze overtime for Q4 | Not in meeting | Never mentioned | Delete |
| Luis to update dock schedule by Thursday | Wrong owner (and relative date) | "DANA: I'll take the dock schedule. Thursday." | Dana, by Thu Oct 8 |
| Priya to request quotes by Wed Oct 7 | Correct | Matches | n/a |
| Dana to send safety sign-ups by Oct 30 | Wrong date | "sign-ups due the 16th" | By Oct 16 |
| Open: Billerica lease renewal | Correct | "Let's think about it" | n/a |

Five errors in six lines, and it *looked* fine.

## Checklist: recap ready to send

- [ ] Transcription allowed by policy; everyone aware and agreed.
- [ ] Decisions only if explicitly agreed.
- [ ] Every action has owner and calendar date (or "not stated").
- [ ] Every line traced to transcript or notes.
- [ ] Tasks created with links; owners confirmed.

## Do and don't

| Do | Don't |
| --- | --- |
| Announce transcription in the invite and at the start | Turn it on quietly |
| Keep HR and sensitive meetings off the record | Transcribe "everything just in case" |
| Mark every line before sending | Forward the raw AI recap |
| Ask for "not stated" owners and dates | Let the AI guess owners |
| Link tasks to the recap | Create tasks with no source |

## Try this at work

1. List your recurring meetings and check which may be transcribed under policy.
2. For one allowed meeting, generate a recap and mark every line.
3. Count errors by type; add one prompt rule to fix the most common.

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Recap | Structured summary: decisions, actions, open questions |
| Action item | Task with owner and due date |
| Transcription | Converting speech to text; creates a record |
| Consent | Everyone's awareness and agreement to recording |
| Relative date | "Thursday," "next week": needs converting to a calendar date |

## Key takeaways

- Ask for decisions, owners, dates, plus open questions.
- Consent and policy before recording.
- Verify every line; owners and dates fail most.