granola-core-workflow-a

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

1. Open Granola Settings > Templates
2. Click Create New Template
3. 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]

4. 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:

1. Your pre-meeting context
2. Your live notes during the meeting
3. 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

1. Use clear section headers — Granola's AI parses headers to organize content
2. Include bracketed hints — [Owner, task, due date] guides the AI output format
3. Keep templates under 10 sections — too many sections dilute content
4. Add a "Verbatim Quotes" section for customer-facing meetings — captures exact language
5. End with "Action Items" and "Next Steps" — the AI reliably fills these

Resources

• Customize Notes with Templates
• Introducing Recipes
• Get the Best from Granola

Next Steps

Proceed to granola-core-workflow-b for post-meeting processing and sharing workflows.