What is a Summary Report?

In today's professional world, information is more abundant than ever and communication is all the more important. Meetings can be long and time-consuming, so after one has taken place you will need a reliable way to present key information without too many details.

A summary report is used to compress huge chunks of data or findings into a concise format. It will help team members stay on the same page and enable decision-makers to quickly grasp the main points and take action if needed. Despite its simplicity, writing a good summary report comes with multiple requirements, such as clarity, structure and a strong understanding of the subject matter.

Why do we even need a summary report?

A summary report is a brief document that rounds up crucial insights and findings from a larger report, project or meeting. The ultimate goal is to highlight what matters the most.

We often use summary reports to:

• Summarize a text
• Convey key takeaways from research, analysis or meetings
• Disclose results to clients or stakeholders
• Bolster business decisions
• Track progress on projects
• Assess performance metrics
• Inform team members or partners who don't need to dive into all the technical details

For all intents and purposes, a summary report saves time. But keep in mind, when we talk about saving time, we actually mean two things. A summary report is there to save the readers' time by providing them with a digest version, but the goal is to also keep everyone in the loop and save time for the whole team or the organization that way. And of course, the time saved must be (multiple times) longer than the time invested in writing the summary report.

What makes it a good summary report?

The answer to this question may seem easy and obvious, but it is not as simple as it seems. Yes, a summary report should bring up the main points from a project, material or meeting, but what does it actually take?

• Writing with your audience in mind
  The writer should know what the readers are looking for and should write with that in mind. There is no need to repeat what your readers are already familiar with and yet – a missing piece of information can make them draw the wrong conclusions.

• Starting with the overall topic right away
  If this is not the case, it's a complete waste of time. The readers' time and the writer's time as well, as many readers are probably not even going to make it past the first paragraph. The opportunity is lost to convey the message you wanted to put across.

• Listing the main points upfront
  Just like with the overall topic, it is important to tell the reader right away what are the main points covered in the report. The whole idea with summary reports is to save everyone's time and if the reader is told right away what to expect, the report is serving its purpose. If the reader is kept in the dark, they either don't make it far with their reading or regret doing so.

• Including necessary details
  Leaving out unnecessary details doesn't mean leaving out all the details. There's a sweet spot between saying too much and saying too little and the writer should strike a balance. If a certain piece of information is relevant for a decision the reader will need to make right away or down the road, that info must find its way to the report.

• Being clear about whose idea was that
  Clarity is crucial when writing a summary report. The writer must not attribute any ideas or points to the wrong person or to themselves. It must be stated clearly whose idea, request or conclusion is that and that must be done for every single point covered in the report.

• Stating important conclusions
  The reader will obviously draw their own conclusions, but the goal of a summary report is to keep everyone in the loop and on the same page. The writer should make sure they include the important conclusions from the meeting or project they want to cover.

• Editing ruthlessly
  Once the writer has made a draft, they will need to trim the fat and get rid of anything non-essential or repetitive. They will also need to break complex sentences and simplify their writing. Finally, they are to double-check everything for accuracy and make sure no misinformation is in the report.

What is NOT a good summary report?

Obviously, any document that is not saving the readers' time and is instead frustrating people qualifies immediately for a bad summary report. But there are some more things to stay away from.

• Stating your own opinion
  That is just not the purpose of a summary report. If the writer's opinion was required, they would have been asked to let it be known during the meeting or project. The summary report is never a place to do that.

• Using quotations
  There might be exceptions, but they are not as common as people may think. The writer is supposed to summarize and direct quotes don't usually go hand in hand with it.

• Including unnecessary details
  The balance mentioned above is so important. Some writers use a trick that helps them get rid of unnecessary details very efficiently. They go over their report and keep asking themselves a simple question—so what? If they don't have a good enough answer, they will need to take that part off the report or rewrite it.

• Building walls of text
  Doing so proves to be the fastest way to drive readers away. Headings, subheadings, bold text and bullet points help the reader riff through the report quickly and save their time.

• Using jargon and fluff
  The writer should make sure to not let any of those slip in. They must always keep in mind what they are working on and who they are writing it for. The tone and style will vary depending on the organization, but every summary report has to be to the point.

All of this may feel a bit overwhelming, but dropping any of those will have the readers overwhelmed, which is clearly not the outcome anyone desires. So what to do instead?

Let Amie help you with your meeting summary reports

Why are meeting summary reports even important and could you get by without them? You certainly could, the question is if you should. If you pass on summary reports for your meetings, you end up going over certain topics time and time again and your team or company moves at a much slower pace. If you track your conversations during the meetings, that gives you a much clearer picture of where you are at the moment, where you need to go next and what are the steps your team or organization needs to take in the upcoming period. Sounds like something you wouldn't want to miss, right? And Amie can get you there.

Why choose Amie and not one of her AI peers?

Short answer, because Amie's giving you more. Because you're always looking for a better value and meeting management should be no exception. Amie is providing more than just summary reports from your meetings. This app is your virtual assistant that can truly help you run your business. Amie is smart and truly immersed in your workflow on different levels. For that reason, Amie knows the context and can get you what you need at any given moment.

How is Amie doing all of that?

No matter where you are, Amie got you covered. Whether you choose to have your call on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Slack Huddle, Amie is able to get the notes. Recordings start and stop automatically if you join the call through Amie. If you join them through another app, Amie is there to ask you to start recording. You can even have Amie work in the background and record every call without even asking if you choose so. Either way, you never miss to have a meeting recorded and Amie never misses to deliver the notes and to stay up to date. You can also help Amie focus on certain points by leaving your private notes for her and guiding her that way, to get the exact summary report that fits your needs.

Amie also connects with your email, calendar and other apps, such as HubSpot, Notion, Slack, etc. This app is invaluable when it comes to automating your workflow. You can delegate 90% of meeting follow-up tasks to Amie and have her help you prepare for your meetings 10x faster. Amie can draft your emails, write and rewrite summaries, prepare agendas, schedule your day and help you with a bunch of other staff. You get so many hours back that way, for your team and yourself.

Where do I sign up?

We thought you'd ask that and we're so glad you did. This is where you can check our plans and see which one works best for you. Amie is looking forward to meeting you and we're sure you'll be excited to meet her.