Improving Meeting Templates

This guide explains how to customise your meeting templates to improve the output of your file notes.

Overview

There are two ways to improve a meeting template; the automatic template improver tool, or manually editing the template outline. We recommend starting with the template improver.

Template improver tool

Find a meeting

Start by opening a recent meeting in Claras. Its status must be "processed" or "finalised" and the transcript must still be available. Identify what specifically needs changing in the file note. Is it too brief? Has it missed important sections or discussions? Are there too many or too few quotes? Even if it's just the overall "feel" of the file note, that's valid feedback to work with.

Provide your feedback

Click the Improve Template button under the file note.

Focusing on one section of the file note at a time, provide feedback as if you were explaining to our team what needs changing. Here are some effective examples:

The "Reflecting on Original Goals" section is too brief. It should be a detailed paragraph that explains more of the client story and motivations behind the goal.

The action items should be in a table.

All the headings under the risk section are unnecessary. Combine them into a single paragraph instead.

Aim for five key questions rather than three.

Add a new section called Risk Assessment that goes into detail on the concepts I explained and the clients reaction to each.

Preview the changes

Click the Draft Template Improvements and Claras will assess your instructions and begin drafting changes to both your template and file note.

After 30-60 seconds, you'll be presented with a side-by-side comparison of the changes Claras has drafted. This allows you to see the suggested template changes, and how your file note would've turned out with those changes.

Once you've reviewed the proposed changes to both template and file note, you can choose to apply or discard them.

Iterate and repeat

If the results aren't quite right, go back and revise your instructions. For instance, if the goals section is still too brief:

The "Reflecting on Original Goals" section is too brief. It should be a detailed paragraph that explains more of the client story and motivations behind the goal. Make sure the entire story behind is included without missing anything.

Then repeat this process for each section you want to improve.

Manually edit the template

If you're comfortable with prompting language models or want more control, you can edit the template outline directly in the editor. Go to Templates → Meetings and click on the template you wish to change to open the editor.

We recommend using the provided "guidance blocks" where possible, as Claras understands these verbs and their expected output styles. You can also create custom instructions using [] anywhere in the editor.

After saving your changes, you can reprocess a meeting to generate a new file note with the updated template.

1. Open the meeting and click Download DOCX to save the existing file note

2. Click ⋮ in the top right corner and select Reprocess... to change the status back to draft

3. Click ⋮ again and select Edit, then choose your upgraded template from the "Type" dropdown and save

4. Your transcript and additional notes remain attached to the meeting. Just verify the speaker count is correct

5. Click Start Processing to generate a new file note

6. Once complete, download this version as DOCX and open both files side by side

Now you can directly compare the outputs. You can then decide to keep the changes, make further edits, or revert the changes using version history if needed.

Customising the client email

Each meeting template also includes an "Email" tab where you can control how Claras drafts the post-meeting client email. To access the email settings, go to Templates → Meetings, click on a template, and switch to the "Email" tab.

The email instructions work independently from your file note personality setting. While personality settings like "Composed" or "Precise" don't directly affect the email, longer file notes can naturally lead to longer emails because there is more content available to summarise. If your emails are too detailed or lengthy, the most effective approach is to add specific instructions in the email tab rather than changing the file note personality.

For example, adding a word limit helps keep emails concise:

Include a summary of the meeting and next steps. Keep it under 300 words.

You can also include other instructions about tone, structure, or what to emphasise. These instructions apply to all meetings that use the template, so you don't need to manually refine each email after processing.

Last updated 7th February 2026 by Connor