Mastering Minute-Taking for Effective Meetings

Class Reps: Minute-Taking 2018-2019 2018

What we’ll cover this evening… • The minute taker’s role • Listening • Capturing what’s said • Writing up and structuring minutes

The weird language of meetings

The Minute Taker’s role • In small groups, identify the key tasks of an SSCC minute taker. • What skills will you need to complete these task?

The Minute-Taker’s Responsibilities

The Minute-Taker’s Task

Meeting Preparation • Organising the meetings • Inviting participants • Setting the agenda

Setting the Agenda Producing the agenda (with the Chair) It sets clear objectives It provides pre-meeting information It includes all relevant items It shows the structure and timing of the meeting It shows who is required

Listening Skills

The importance of listening • Stay focused on the speaker • Don’t tune out dry-sounding information • Try not to evaluate as you are listening • Show you are ‘actively’ listening • Ask clarifying questions • Don’t interrupt • Brain Vs Ears

Tips for taking notes • Draw up a table plan • Print off an agenda for you to write notes against with big spaces • Record the action to be taken clearly and the date when it’s to be done by

Writing up minutes • Take notes during the meeting, write minutes up afterwards • Do it soon!

What you’re aiming for • Background • Discussion • Decision • Action • Whilst being: authentic, complete, concise, free from ambiguity, in the past tense

The structure of minutes • Beginning • Middle • End

Beginning • Heading • Attendance • Present • In attendance (i.e. not a member of the committee) • Apologies • Absent • Item 1: Previous Minutes • Item 2: Matters arising from the previous minutes

Middle • Item 3. Business • Go through in order of the agenda (keep the same numbering) • Make a record of what was said • E.g. a brief outline of the discussion and actions agreed or… • Just a record of the actions [in bold, with initials of who is responsible]

End • 4. AOCB • 5. Date of next meeting • Chairperson’s name and date

The power of words How you minute conversations can subtly change how the reader interprets the minutes: • Use “They” • Past Tense: “…said, stated, argued, contested, emphasised, reinforced, stressed, urged, declared, mentioned”

Once minutes completed • Distribute quickly: 80:20 rule • File them safely somewhere – paper and electronic?

Professional Skills Curriculum • Development programme open to all students • 11 graduate key skills graduate employers value • Dip in and out, or complete 8 and a reflective essay to receive certificate https://www.facebook.com/ ProfessionalSkillsCurriculum

Mastering Minute-Taking for Effective Meetings