How to Capture Roundtable Takeaways and Write the Report, Template Included

The conversation at a great roundtable disappears the moment people stand up, unless you capture it. Capture turns a good hour into something the organizer, the attendees and the sponsors can actually use. Here is how to capture roundtable takeaways and write the report, with a template you can copy.

Why capture matters

• Attendees remember more when they write down one takeaway and one action.
• Organizers learn what their audience actually thinks, by topic, in their own words.
• Sponsors see what their buyers care about.
• Next year's program gets better, because you know which topics landed.

How to capture at the table

Keep it simple and do it before people leave.

One QR code per table. In the last five to seven minutes, the leader asks everyone to scan the code and answer two questions:

1. What is your main takeaway from this table?
2. What is one action you plan to take?

Optional third question: "Would you like to hear from this table's sponsor?" as an unticked box. Only attendees who tick it are ever passed on.

Why phones first: paper cards get lost, are hard to read and take hours to type up. A short form on a phone takes attendees under a minute and lands the answers in one place, already sorted by table. Keep a few cards on each table anyway for anyone who cannot scan, and have the leader collect them for entry later.

Recording. If you record, be careful about how. Tables are recorded only with clear notice and consent, every round has a table that is not recorded, and anyone can ask to pause.

How to turn takeaways into themes

After the event, go topic by topic:

1. Read every takeaway for the topic.
2. Group them into themes. Three to five themes per topic is usually right.
3. Count them. How many takeaways fall under each theme.
4. Pick a few quotes that say it best, with no names attached.
5. List the actions attendees named, grouped the same way.

The privacy rules

A report people trust follows a few rules:

• No names. Quotes are unnamed.
• No small groups. As a reporting rule, never show a group smaller than five people on its own. It makes it much harder to pick anyone out.
• No identifying details. Leave out quotes that would point to a specific person or business, even without a name.
• Themes and counts, not transcripts.
• Contacts only by choice. Sponsors hear from an attendee only if that attendee asked.

The report template

Copy this structure for each topic.

Topic: [table topic] Tables and people: [number of tables], [number of people], [number of takeaways]

Top themes

• [Theme one] ([count])
• [Theme two] ([count])
• [Theme three] ([count])

In their words

• "[unnamed quote]"
• "[unnamed quote]"

Next steps attendees named

• [Action] ([count])
• [Action] ([count])

Then add a one page summary at the front: the topics that drew the most people, the themes that came up across tables, and three things to consider for next year.

You can see a full example on our sample report page. It is built from a mock event to show the format.

When to deliver it

About 10 days after the event. Soon enough that the event is still fresh, long enough to do it properly.

What to do with the report

• Share the highlights with attendees. Tell each table what it came up with. It shows their time mattered.
• Share it with your board and team. It is a rare look at what your audience is thinking.
• Give sponsors their summary. It is often the part of the package they value most.
• Use it to plan next year. Keep the topics that filled tables, drop the ones that did not, and add what attendees asked for.

Want professionals to run your roundtables?

Round Table People sets up capture at every table and delivers a report organized by topic about 10 days after your event, then sits down with your team to plan what to change next time. See what you get or book a conversation.