Glossary
Meeting words, in plain English
What the words in agendas, minutes and meeting apps mean — each with an example and the word it gets confused with.
AbstainTo choose not to vote for or against a motion, though entitled to vote.Action itemA task agreed in a meeting, with a named person responsible and a deadline.AdjournTo formally end a meeting, or to pause it and continue at a later time.AgendaThe list of what a meeting will cover, in order, usually with a time for each item and who leads it.Any other businessAn item at the end of an agenda for matters not listed elsewhere, often abbreviated AOB.Asynchronous updateInformation shared in writing, video or voice for people to read or watch in their own time, instead of in a live meeting.BacklogAn ordered list of work a team might do, with the most important items at the top.Breakout roomA smaller, separate session that some participants of a video meeting are moved into for a while, before returning to the main meeting.Captions and transcriptCaptions are words shown on screen as people speak, usually live and then gone; a transcript is the written record of what was said, kept after the meeting.Co-hostA participant given some of the host’s powers in a video meeting — such as admitting people, muting others or managing breakout rooms — without being the host.Dial-inA phone number and code that let someone join a video meeting by calling from a telephone, with audio only.DiarizationIn speech technology, the process of working out “who spoke when” in a recording by splitting the audio into segments and grouping them by voice.FacilitatorThe person who runs the process of a meeting — keeping it to the agenda, making sure everyone is heard and helping the group reach a decision — usually without taking a side on the content.Hybrid meetingA meeting where some people are together in a room and others join remotely by video.Matters arisingAn early agenda item where the group follows up on points from the last meeting’s minutes that are not covered elsewhere on the agenda.Meeting botSoftware that joins a video call as if it were a participant, usually to record, transcribe or take notes.MinutesThe official written record of a meeting: who attended, what was decided, and what actions were agreed.MotionA formal proposal that a group take an action or adopt a position, put forward by a member so the group can debate and vote on it.Note-takerThe person — or software — responsible for writing down what a meeting decided and who will do what.Proxy voteA vote cast by one person on behalf of a member who cannot attend, under a written authority called a proxy.QuorumThe smallest number of members who must be present for a meeting to make decisions that count.RecapA short summary sent after a meeting: what was decided, what each person is doing next, and anything still open.RetrospectiveA meeting where a team looks back at a recent period of work to agree what went well, what did not, and what to change.Speaker attributionPutting each line of a transcript under the name of the person who said it.SprintA fixed period, usually one to four weeks, in which a team commits to finishing a set amount of work.StakeholderAnyone affected by a project or decision, or able to influence it — customers, staff, managers, partners, investors.Stand-upA short daily team meeting, often fifteen minutes or less, where people say what they finished, what they will do next and what is blocking them.Standing meetingA meeting that repeats on a fixed schedule — the same day and time each week or month — rather than being booked each time.TimekeeperThe person in a meeting who watches the clock and tells the group when an item’s time is nearly up.Waiting roomA holding area where people who join a video meeting wait until the host lets them in.
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