Granola Core Workflow A: Meeting Preparation & Templates
Overview
Configure Granola templates (which structure the enhanced output) and recipes (repeatable Chat prompts) for consistent, high-quality meeting notes. Granola ships with 29 built-in templates and supports custom templates per workspace.
Prerequisites
- Granola installed and authenticated
- Calendar synced with upcoming meetings
- At least one meeting captured (to understand the enhancement flow)
Instructions
Step 1 — Choose a Built-in Template
Click the Change template icon at the bottom of your notes before or during a meeting:
| Template |
Best For |
Sections Generated |
| 1-on-1 |
Manager/report check-ins |
Check-in, Updates, Discussion, Action Items |
| Stand-up |
Daily sync |
Progress, Blockers, Priorities |
| Discovery Call |
Sales prospecting |
Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline (BANT) |
| Sprint Planning |
Agile ceremonies |
Sprint Goals, Velocity, Backlog, Risks |
| Weekly Team |
Status meetings |
Updates, Decisions, Action Items |
| Interview Debrief |
Hiring loops |
Candidate Assessment, Strengths, Concerns |
| Project Kick-Off |
New initiatives |
Goals, Scope, Timeline, RACI |
| Pipeline Review |
Sales forecast |
Deal Status, Next Steps, Risks |
| Design Crit |
Creative review |
Feedback, Changes Requested, Approvals |
Templates tell the AI how to structure the enhanced output — a sales call produces different sections than a standup.
Step 2 — Create a Custom Template
- Open Granola Settings > Templates
- Click Create New Template
- Define the structure using section headers:
## Customer Feedback Session
### Context
[Brief on the customer and their product usage]
### Key Feedback Themes
[Grouped by category: UX, Performance, Features, Support]
### Verbatim Quotes
[Direct customer quotes with timestamps]
### Severity Assessment
[Critical / High / Medium / Low for each issue]
### Action Items
[Owner, task, due date]
### Follow-Up Commitment
[What we promised the customer and by when]
- Name it and optionally set auto-trigger conditions:
- Calendar event title contains specific keywords (e.g., "feedback", "customer")
- Attendee email domains (e.g.,
@customer.com)
Step 3 — Create Recipes for Granola Chat
Recipes are saved prompts invoked with / in Granola Chat:
| Recipe |
Prompt |
Use Case |
/follow-up |
"Draft a professional follow-up email summarizing decisions and next steps" |
Post-meeting email |
/standup |
"Extract blockers, progress updates, and priorities per person" |
Standup summary |
/bant |
"Analyze this call using BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)" |
Sales qualification |
/prd |
"Write a PRD based on the product requirements discussed in this meeting" |
Product spec |
/coaching |
"Based on this 1:1, suggest coaching points and development areas" |
Manager prep |
/decision-log |
"List all decisions made, who made them, and the reasoning" |
Governance |
Create custom recipes at Settings > Recipes or directly in Chat.
Step 4 — Pre-Meeting Preparation
Before important meetings, type context into the Granola notepad before the call starts:
## Pre-Meeting Context
- Last meeting: discussed Series A timeline, concerns about runway
- Open items: term sheet review, board seat allocation
- My goals today: confirm valuation range, discuss liquidation preference
- Questions to ask: timeline for closing, co-investor status
When you click Enhance Notes after the meeting, Granola combines:
- Your pre-meeting context
- Your live notes during the meeting
- The full audio transcript
This produces output that is aware of your goals and prior context.
Step 5 — Set Template Defaults per Workspace
For team deployments, set default templates per shared folder:
| Folder |
Default Template |
Auto-Apply |
#sales-calls |
Discovery Call |
Events with external attendees |
#engineering |
Sprint Planning |
Events titled "sprint" or "planning" |
#leadership |
Weekly Team |
Events with >5 attendees |
#interviews |
Interview Debrief |
Events titled "interview" |
Output
- Templates configured for each meeting type
- Custom recipes created for post-meeting workflows
- Pre-meeting context workflow established
- Consistent structured output across team meetings
Error Handling
| Issue |
Cause |
Fix |
| Wrong template applied |
Auto-trigger matched incorrectly |
Narrow trigger conditions (more specific keywords) |
| Template sections empty |
Meeting lacked relevant discussion |
Remove irrelevant sections from template |
| Recipe not appearing |
Not saved to workspace |
Save recipe in Settings > Recipes |
| Pre-meeting notes lost |
Typed in wrong app |
Ensure you type in the Granola notepad, not a separate editor |
Template Design Best Practices
- Use clear section headers — Granola's AI parses headers to organize content
- Include bracketed hints —
[Owner, task, due date] guides the AI output format
- Keep templates under 10 sections — too many sections dilute content
- Add a "Verbatim Quotes" section for customer-facing meetings — captures exact language
- End with "Action Items" and "Next Steps" — the AI reliably fills these
Resources
Next Steps
Proceed to granola-core-workflow-b for post-meeting processing and sharing workflows.
Source: jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills → skills/.curated/granola-core-workflow-a/SKILL.md
Also appears in: jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/plugins/saas-packs/granola-pack/skills/granola-core-workflow-a/SKILL.md
1---2name: granola-core-workflow-a3description: "Meeting preparation and template setup in Granola \u2014 templates,\ \ recipes, and pre-meeting workflows.\nUse when configuring note templates for 1:1s,\ \ standups, discovery calls, or sprint planning,\ncreating custom recipes, or preparing\ \ agenda notes before important meetings.\nTrigger: \"granola template\", \"granola\ \ meeting prep\", \"granola recipe\", \"granola agenda\".\n"4---56# Granola Core Workflow A: Meeting Preparation & Templates78## Overview910Configure Granola templates (which structure the enhanced output) and recipes (repeatable Chat prompts) for consistent, high-quality meeting notes. Granola ships with 29 built-in templates and supports custom templates per workspace.1112## Prerequisites1314- Granola installed and authenticated15- Calendar synced with upcoming meetings16- At least one meeting captured (to understand the enhancement flow)1718## Instructions1920### Step 1 — Choose a Built-in Template2122Click the **Change template** icon at the bottom of your notes before or during a meeting:2324| Template | Best For | Sections Generated |25|----------|----------|-------------------|26| **1-on-1** | Manager/report check-ins | Check-in, Updates, Discussion, Action Items |27| **Stand-up** | Daily sync | Progress, Blockers, Priorities |28| **Discovery Call** | Sales prospecting | Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline (BANT) |29| **Sprint Planning** | Agile ceremonies | Sprint Goals, Velocity, Backlog, Risks |30| **Weekly Team** | Status meetings | Updates, Decisions, Action Items |31| **Interview Debrief** | Hiring loops | Candidate Assessment, Strengths, Concerns |32| **Project Kick-Off** | New initiatives | Goals, Scope, Timeline, RACI |33| **Pipeline Review** | Sales forecast | Deal Status, Next Steps, Risks |34| **Design Crit** | Creative review | Feedback, Changes Requested, Approvals |3536Templates tell the AI how to structure the enhanced output — a sales call produces different sections than a standup.3738### Step 2 — Create a Custom Template39401. Open Granola Settings > **Templates**412. Click **Create New Template**423. Define the structure using section headers:4344```markdown45## Customer Feedback Session4647### Context48[Brief on the customer and their product usage]4950### Key Feedback Themes51[Grouped by category: UX, Performance, Features, Support]5253### Verbatim Quotes54[Direct customer quotes with timestamps]5556### Severity Assessment57[Critical / High / Medium / Low for each issue]5859### Action Items60[Owner, task, due date]6162### Follow-Up Commitment63[What we promised the customer and by when]64```65661. Name it and optionally set auto-trigger conditions:67 - Calendar event title contains specific keywords (e.g., "feedback", "customer")68 - Attendee email domains (e.g., `@customer.com`)6970### Step 3 — Create Recipes for Granola Chat7172Recipes are saved prompts invoked with `/` in Granola Chat:7374| Recipe | Prompt | Use Case |75|--------|--------|----------|76| `/follow-up` | "Draft a professional follow-up email summarizing decisions and next steps" | Post-meeting email |77| `/standup` | "Extract blockers, progress updates, and priorities per person" | Standup summary |78| `/bant` | "Analyze this call using BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)" | Sales qualification |79| `/prd` | "Write a PRD based on the product requirements discussed in this meeting" | Product spec |80| `/coaching` | "Based on this 1:1, suggest coaching points and development areas" | Manager prep |81| `/decision-log` | "List all decisions made, who made them, and the reasoning" | Governance |8283Create custom recipes at Settings > **Recipes** or directly in Chat.8485### Step 4 — Pre-Meeting Preparation8687Before important meetings, type context into the Granola notepad **before** the call starts:8889```markdown90## Pre-Meeting Context91- Last meeting: discussed Series A timeline, concerns about runway92- Open items: term sheet review, board seat allocation93- My goals today: confirm valuation range, discuss liquidation preference94- Questions to ask: timeline for closing, co-investor status95```9697When you click **Enhance Notes** after the meeting, Granola combines:98991. Your pre-meeting context1002. Your live notes during the meeting1013. The full audio transcript102103This produces output that is aware of your goals and prior context.104105### Step 5 — Set Template Defaults per Workspace106107For team deployments, set default templates per shared folder:108109| Folder | Default Template | Auto-Apply |110|--------|-----------------|------------|111| `#sales-calls` | Discovery Call | Events with external attendees |112| `#engineering` | Sprint Planning | Events titled "sprint" or "planning" |113| `#leadership` | Weekly Team | Events with >5 attendees |114| `#interviews` | Interview Debrief | Events titled "interview" |115116## Output117118- Templates configured for each meeting type119- Custom recipes created for post-meeting workflows120- Pre-meeting context workflow established121- Consistent structured output across team meetings122123## Error Handling124125| Issue | Cause | Fix |126|-------|-------|-----|127| Wrong template applied | Auto-trigger matched incorrectly | Narrow trigger conditions (more specific keywords) |128| Template sections empty | Meeting lacked relevant discussion | Remove irrelevant sections from template |129| Recipe not appearing | Not saved to workspace | Save recipe in Settings > Recipes |130| Pre-meeting notes lost | Typed in wrong app | Ensure you type in the Granola notepad, not a separate editor |131132## Template Design Best Practices1331341. **Use clear section headers** — Granola's AI parses headers to organize content1352. **Include bracketed hints** — `[Owner, task, due date]` guides the AI output format1363. **Keep templates under 10 sections** — too many sections dilute content1374. **Add a "Verbatim Quotes" section** for customer-facing meetings — captures exact language1385. **End with "Action Items" and "Next Steps"** — the AI reliably fills these139140## Resources141142- [Customize Notes with Templates](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/customise-notes-with-templates)143- [Introducing Recipes](https://www.granola.ai/blog/say-hello-to-recipes)144- [Get the Best from Granola](https://www.granola.ai/blog/get-the-best-from-granola)145146## Next Steps147148Proceed to `granola-core-workflow-b` for post-meeting processing and sharing workflows.149150---151152**Source:** [`jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills`](https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills) → `skills/.curated/granola-core-workflow-a/SKILL.md`153154**Also appears in:** `jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/plugins/saas-packs/granola-pack/skills/granola-core-workflow-a/SKILL.md`
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