The meeting went well, the client is keen and you've promised a few things. That's when the real work starts: notes for the file, a quick email to the colleague who needs to sort something out, and a proper follow-up email to the client. Three pieces of writing about the same conversation, and often you don't get to them until the evening. This article shows you how to have all three drafted in one go.
Three documents, one conversation
After almost every meeting you need the same three write-ups:
- Short meeting notes for yourself, your file or your client folder.
- An internal email to a colleague or team: what was discussed and who is picking up what.
- An email to the client with a summary, the agreements and the next steps.
The hard part isn't the typing. It's writing the same information down three times in three different ways. And that's exactly when a commitment slips through the cracks.
In Rapportly, this combination of three is called a conversation bundle. You provide the conversation once and get three separate drafts back, each written for its own reader.
What do you need?
The bundle works from what was actually said. You can provide that in a few ways:
- a recording of the conversation that you made in Rapportly and had transcribed;
- a transcript or conversation text that you paste in yourself, for example from your own notes;
- documents that relate to the conversation.
Already recorded the conversation earlier? Then simply pick it again via Choose existing material. Do read the transcript before you use it as a source: check names, technical terms and whether any parts are missing. You can read more about recording and transcription on our page about speech to text.
How to create a conversation bundle
- On the Home screen, open Meeting notes + follow-up email.
- In the Input step, add the transcript, the conversation text or documents, or use Choose existing material.
- Click Continue to settings. Under Client or subject, enter a recognisable title and, if you like, choose a client folder so everything stays together later.
- Check the primary language and, if you need one, a second language. Also check which working method has been selected. Via How would you like your document to be created? and Customize you can choose a different quality level.
- Click Create conversation bundle.
You'll then get the meeting notes, the internal email and the client email as three separate results.
Review: this is your work, and it stays that way
Rapportly creates a draft, not a finished product. You were in the meeting and you know what was agreed. That's why you go through all three results before anything goes out. A practical order:
Checklist before you use the bundle
- Notes first. Check the notes against the conversation. Is the gist right, and are the correct names and amounts in there?
- Actions and commitments. Is every commitment included, and nothing you did not promise?
- Internal email. Is it clear who is picking up what?
- Client email. Are the tone, the recipient and the attachment right?
- Edit where needed, and only then share or send.
From draft to sent email
The client email is never sent automatically. You decide when and how it goes out.
The standard route is Set up as draft. You then download an email file that you open in your email program. There you add the recipient, check the subject, text and attachments, and send the email yourself. Note: a downloaded draft file like this doesn't land in your mailbox on its own; you open it yourself.
If your organisation uses a mailbox connection, Rapportly can place a draft directly in your mailbox. The Gmail connection is in beta and is not available for every account or plan. Even then, you review and send it yourself.
Did you promise a brochure or price list in the meeting? Rapportly can suggest suitable attachments from your own standard documents. This feature also depends on your plan, and you always check for yourself which attachment goes with the email.
Why this saves time
Because the three texts come from a single source, they're consistent with each other. And because you have a draft straight after the meeting, you write the follow-up while the conversation is still fresh.
Working with regular clients? Then always choose the same client folder, so that notes and emails are kept together per client. See also /for/account-managers. If you mainly want to know what belongs in good meeting notes, take a look at writing meeting notes.
Want to know how much time you spend writing things up? Work it out with the savings calculator.