Unleash the Power of Templates in Quill

At Quill, we believe in empowering you to make the most of your meetings. We understand that different meetings have different goals. Sometimes you need a quick summary, other times a detailed action plan. How can one tool cater to such diverse needs? The answer lies in Quill’s powerful templating system. This post explores how templates transform meetings from simple recordings into structured, actionable outcomes. We’ll delve into customizing existing templates, creating new ones, and exploring the potential of the upcoming template gallery. How can you tailor Quill to your specific workflow? Let’s discover the answers together.

Taming the Template Beast: Customization

Think of templates like blueprints for your meeting notes. They dictate the structure and content of the output. At Quill, we provide a range of default templates, each designed for a specific purpose. Perhaps you need a concise summary of key decisions and action items after an internal sync. The “Decisions and Actions” template is your go-to. But what if you only need the top five insights, not ten? No problem! Simply adjust the template parameters to suit your needs. Customization puts you in control.

“A template is a structured way to get something specific out of a meeting every time you have that kind of meeting.” [Nick]

Let’s say you’re an executive coach using the “One-on-One Review” template. You might want to add a section for personalized feedback or goals. With Quill, you can easily modify the template to incorporate these elements. It’s like adding ingredients to a recipe – tweak it until it’s perfect for your taste. This flexibility ensures that the output aligns perfectly with your objectives.

“You can go ahead on any template, click the instructions and edit and create your own ones.” [Nick]

Imagine needing only the top three discussion points from a brainstorming session. Simply modify the “Brainstorming” template to reflect this. This level of customization ensures you get precisely the information you require, streamlining your workflow and saving valuable time.

Building from Scratch: Creating Custom Templates

Quill offers more than just customization. You can craft entirely new templates from the ground up. Imagine you’re a project manager needing a template to track progress, deadlines, and risks. Simply define the structure, headings, and content elements you need. It’s like building with LEGOs – piece by piece, you create a structure perfectly tailored to your requirements.

“So just experiment and then you can go ahead and save the template…” [Nick]

Let’s say you’re a teacher wanting to summarize student presentations. You could create a template with sections for key arguments, supporting evidence, and areas for improvement. The possibilities are endless. Building your own templates gives you complete control over how your meeting information is organized and presented.

“…and soon you’ll actually be able to publish it as well in our gallery and share it with other people.” [Nick]

Consider a sales team needing to capture lead qualifications, next steps, and follow-up actions. A custom template ensures consistent data capture across the team, facilitating analysis and reporting. This tailored approach ensures everyone is on the same page and working with the same information.

Template Components: Understanding the Building Blocks

Creating effective templates requires understanding the key components that make them work. Each template consists of several elements that work together to structure your meeting output.

Template Structure Elements:

• Headers and Sections: Organize content into logical categories
• Instructions: Guide the AI on what information to extract and how to format it
• Output Format: Determine whether content appears as bullet points, paragraphs, or tables
• Content Filters: Specify what types of information to include or exclude

Best Practices for Template Design:

• Start with clear objectives for what you want to achieve
• Use descriptive section headers that reflect your specific needs
• Include specific instructions for complex or nuanced requirements
• Test templates with sample meetings to refine the output
• Iterate based on feedback and actual usage patterns

Advanced Template Features

As you become more comfortable with basic template creation, you can explore advanced features that make your templates even more powerful and specific to your needs.

Dynamic Content Generation:

• Variable output length based on meeting duration
• Conditional sections that appear only when relevant
• Automatic prioritization of content based on importance
• Cross-referencing with previous meetings or related topics

Integration Capabilities:

• Templates that work with specific meeting types or platforms
• Automatic formatting for different sharing destinations
• Integration with external tools and workflows
• Custom metadata and tagging systems

Sharing: The Template Gallery

At Quill, we believe in the power of community. That’s why we’re launching a web-based template gallery. Soon, you’ll be able to share your custom creations with other Quill users. This fosters collaboration and allows you to benefit from the ingenuity of others.

“So that’s a really cool thing about Quill.” [Nick]

Imagine discovering a template perfectly suited to your needs, created by another user in your industry. The gallery will become a hub for innovation and best practices. This collaborative approach empowers users to learn from each other and continuously improve their meeting workflows.

“Templating is very powerful.” [Nick]

Think of the template gallery as an app store for meetings. Browse, download, and adapt templates to streamline your workflow. This sharing ecosystem will accelerate innovation and unlock new possibilities for using Quill.

Template Categories and Use Cases

Understanding different template categories can help you choose the right approach for your specific meeting types and organizational needs.

Meeting Type Templates:

• One-on-Ones: Focus on personal development, feedback, and goal setting
• Team Standups: Capture progress, blockers, and priorities
• Board Meetings: Emphasize decisions, governance, and strategic direction
• Customer Interviews: Extract insights, pain points, and feature requests
• Sales Calls: Track qualifications, objections, and next steps

Industry-Specific Templates:

• Healthcare: Patient consultations, treatment planning, case reviews
• Legal: Client meetings, case strategy, compliance discussions
• Education: Student conferences, faculty meetings, curriculum planning
• Consulting: Client discovery, project updates, deliverable reviews
• Technology: Sprint planning, architecture reviews, incident post-mortems

Optimizing Template Performance

To get the best results from your templates, consider these optimization strategies that can improve both the quality and usefulness of your meeting outputs.

Content Quality Optimization:

• Use specific, actionable language in your template instructions
• Include examples of the type of output you’re looking for
• Specify the level of detail appropriate for your audience
• Include formatting preferences for better readability

Workflow Integration:

• Design templates that fit naturally into your existing processes
• Consider how template outputs will be shared and used
• Include relevant metadata and tags for easy organization
• Plan for template maintenance and updates over time

The Power of Structure: Conclusion

Quill’s templating system offers a powerful way to structure and organize your meeting outputs. From customizing existing templates to building entirely new ones, and soon sharing them through the template gallery, Quill adapts to your specific needs. We believe that every meeting has value, and templates help you extract that value efficiently and effectively. Whether you’re a CEO, a teacher, or a project manager, Quill empowers you to transform your meetings into actionable insights.

“This is a great way to kind of augment where obviously conversations are very rich, but sometimes you want that extra bit of detail.” [Nick]

We believe this tool will be particularly valuable for teams dealing with data-heavy discussions, complex projects, or any situation where visual aids play a crucial role in conveying information. By providing a more holistic view of your meetings, we’re helping you make better-informed decisions and ensuring that no important detail slips through the cracks.

As you explore this new feature, we encourage you to experiment with different types of attachments and see how they can enhance your note-taking experience. Whether you’re a project manager needing to track key metrics, a sales team reviewing quarterly performance, or a startup founder updating investors, the attachment feature is designed to make your notes more valuable and actionable than ever before.

“Do check it out. Also new feature.”

Summary & How-To

✅ Start with existing templates

• Browse available templates in Quill
• Select templates that match your meeting types
• Test templates with sample meetings to understand their output

✅ Customize templates to your needs

• Click “instructions” to edit template parameters
• Modify sections, headings, and content requirements
• Adjust output length and format preferences

✅ Create custom templates from scratch

• Define clear objectives for your template
• Structure content into logical sections
• Write specific instructions for AI processing
• Test and iterate based on results

✅ Share and discover templates

• Save successful templates for future use
• Share templates with team members
• Explore the template gallery for community creations
• Contribute your own templates to help others