Meeting Minute Taking – The BASICS

1. Meeting Minute Taking – The BASICS May 20, 2014 Presented by: Amy Gurren, CAP-OM

2. Minutes Serve Many Purposes • They are the official permanent record of the business. Some types of corporations are legally required to keep minutes of meetings. • Intended to document the outcome of business decisions that are made in a meeting.

3. Minutes Serve Many Purposes • Help future leaders of the business to understand how the corporation has been run in the past.

4. Prepare for the Meeting • Choose your recording “tool” – pen and paper, laptop or tablet, or tape recorder. • Make sure your tool of choice is in working condition and always have a back-up plan just in case. • Have a glossary of terms or professional jargon that may be useful as reference.

5. Prepare for the Meeting Ask the Leader: • What their expectations are of the type of detail they want included in the minutes. • What the purpose and scope of the meeting are (will help with building your template) AND may help to understand more about the meeting in general.

6. Prepare for the Meeting Ask the Leader: • For a copy of the agenda • Use the meeting agenda to create an outline or template for your minutes. If you have any questions on the agenda, ask the leader for clarification.

7. Prepare for the Meeting • Compile a list of who will be attending the meeting, including the leader and any guest speakers. • If any documents are going to be referenced in the meeting and, if so, ask to get a copy in order to attach them to the minutes.

8. Prepare for the Meeting • Arrive at least 5-10 minutes early for the meeting so you have time to set up your recording equipment. • You will want to choose a good seat so that you can see who is speaking and hear everything that will be said. If the seat also allows you to see any whiteboards or flipcharts that will be used, that is ideal.

9. What Should Be Recorded in the Minutes • The name of your organization • Time, date and location of the meeting • Name of leader (who calls the meeting to order) and at what time • Members in attendance and if there is a quorum • Names of any guests • Time meeting is adjourned • Name of person preparing minutes

10. What Should Be Recorded in the Minutes • Key meeting points with a short and concise details of how each point was addressed. • List any action items that are called for by resolutions, including details of responsibilities assigned. • To do items, decisions, and follow up issues that come up during the meeting.

11. What Should Be Recorded in the Minutes • Any motions that must be voted on at a future meeting • Topics covered (should be part of the agenda) • Action items • Decisions • Tabled items • Questions that need to be answered • Key facts that aren’t documented anywhere else

12. What Should Be Recorded in the Minutes • Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes. • New business • Next meeting date and time

13. What Should Be Recorded in the Minutes • If following Robert’s Rules of Order for the meeting, the minutes should focus on the content and outcome of motions (a complete wording of the motion and the outcome of the motion – yea, nay, tabled should be included). • A vote count is not necessary; outcome is enough. • You may include the person who made the motion, but it’s not necessary.

14. Other Hints While Taking Meeting Minutes • Don’t try to summarize discussions or who said what • Names of speakers and the names of any committees that present a report and a brief (1-2 sentence) summary of the committee report (a copy of the formal report can be attached to the minutes).

15. Other Hints While Taking Meeting Minutes • Do not leave out any items with which you disagree – remember that the minutes serve as an official account of what was discussed in the meeting. • If there is a whiteboard or flipchart used during the meeting, use your phone to take pictures of it instead of recording all of the information by hand.

16. Other Hints While Taking Meeting Minutes • While you are taking minutes, some items may be unclear to you. You should politely interrupt the meeting and ask for clarification. An interruption during the meeting will be preferable over inaccurate minutes. • If you do not feel comfortable doing so, make a note to ask the leader for clarification after the meeting.

17. What Should NOT Be Recorded in the Minutes • Names of people who second motions • A summary of the discussion of the motion • An attribution of discussion or comments to specific individuals • Editorial comments about the nature of the discussion

18. Other Minute Taking Hints • If you are going to be a presenter at a meeting, it’s a good idea to have someone else take minutes – it’s hard to do both tasks. • If you are able and the meeting leader is agreeable, take minutes on a laptop and project them so that corrections can be done in “real-time”.

19. Other Minute Taking Hints • Number pages as you go to help keep track of the flow of your notes. • When saving minutes on your computer, name the file with the type of meeting and the date of meeting (i.e. CDC Chapter Meeting_5_20_14) and save the file in a folder named Chapter Meeting Minutes.

20. Other Minute Taking Hints • Use symbols and abbreviations in order to speed up note-taking. • Examples are as follows:

21. Other Minute Taking Hints • (P) = Peter; M = Mary; S = Steve • @ = Action item • = Up/Increase • = Down/Decrease • ? = Question •  = Good •  = Bad

22. Other Minute Taking Hints • Q1, Q2, etc, for 1st or 2nd quarter • Mgt – management • Sbsrb – subscriber • Ancmt – announcement • PP – postpone

23. Other Minute Taking Hints • Make sure all notes are being written in the same “tense” – present, past.

24. After the Meeting • After the meeting is adjourned, add any notes that you feel are pertinent, then have the meeting leader review your notes to ensure they are complete and accurate. • Produce minutes in a timely fashion, preferably within 24 hours of the meeting.

25. After the Meeting • Have leader review your draft minutes for his/her approval (they can look for errors/omissions. • After any “leader” changes have been made, distribute to attendees via email. Bring a copy to your next meeting because, technically, minutes aren’t final until they are voted on and approved.

26. After the Meeting • If changes have to be made after the minutes have been finalized, be sure to update the copy in your files.

27. Online Sharing • Since minutes can create a pile of paper, check with your organization to see if you can use a paperless sharing process. • Some sites are as follows: Google Docs; OneNote; Evernote; Meeting Mix; TextPad/TextMate (txt files); Agreedo.

28. Summary • Minute taking doesn’t have to be scary • Practice, practice, practice • One last question… Thank you!!