How to write meeting minutes

1. How to write meeting minutes

2. Summarize the main points which are debated and the main views expressed • They should go into sufficient detail to make the substance of the meeting clear, but should not be too detailed, unless there is an important reason for this • Usually the minutes are distributed to members of a committee along with the agenda for the next meeting • The meeting is then asked to confirm their accuracy, or to propose any amendments, before they are signed by the chair as a true record of what took place at the meeting.

3. Ensure that all the essential elements are noted: • Type of meeting • Name of the organization • Date and time • Name of the chair • Approval of previous minutes • All resolutions

4. Prepare an outline based on the agenda ahead of time • Leave plenty of white space for notes • By having the topics already written down you can jump right on to a new topic without a pause

5. Prepare a list of expected attendees and check of the names as people enter the room • Or you can pass around an attendance sheet for everyone to sign as the meeting starts

6. To be sure about who said what, make a map of the seating arrangement and make sure to ask for introductions of unfamiliar people

7. Don’t make the mistake of recording every single movement • Concentrate on getting the gist of the discussion and taking enough notes to summarize it later • Think in terms of issues discussed, major points raised and decisions taken

8. Use whatever recording method is comfortable for you: • Notepad • Laptop • Tape recorder • Steno pad • Shorthand • A good idea: to make sound recordings of important meetings as a backup to your notes

9. If you are an active participant in the meeting study the issues to be discussed and have your questions ready ahead of time • If you concentrate on grasping the issues while you are making your notes, they won’t make any sense to you later

10. Don’t wait too long to type your minutes, especially while your memory is fresh • Be sure to have the minutes approved by the chair before distributing them to the attendees

11. Don’t be intimidated by the prospect of taking minutes • Concise and coherent minutes are the mark of a professional • The very process of recording minutes can give you a deeper understanding of the issues faced by your organization along with the ability to focus on what’s important

13. EMAIL • It has revolutionized business and personal communication • It makes possible to communicate cheaply and almost instantly with people anywhere in the world – provided they have access to a computer • You can send any type of messages from a single word to a book length document complete with pictures and sound files • The recipient can respond at once, or think carefully before replying

14. Emails inhabit a space somewhere between personal meetings, telephones and letters • They share advantages with each other of these means of communication • They are instant and direct and allow a number of people to participate • They are quick and inexpensive • They allow those involved to keep a permanent record of messages sent and received

15. Disadvantages: • They rely on written language • You cannot monitor the recipient’s reaction to your message • When you receive them you may missjudge the sender’s tone because you only have words on the screen to go by • It is easy to say something that you soon regret • The rules governing them are less well established

16. Making the Most of E-mail • E-mail is the transmission of files or messages through a computer network • E-mail is a handy medium for sending memos and notices and for forwarding information received electronically from others • Thanks to the “attachment” capabilities of current browsers a writer can develop a lengthy document in Microsoft Word or another word processing programme and send it to others , saving enormously in time and postal charges

17. E-mail is a form of business correspondence that requires the same attention that memos and letters receive • E-mail has become the dominant method of communication in most companies because it is inexpensive, fast, and easy • Unfortunately the speed and ease have created some problems for business writers and their companies:

18. First, employees sometimes send and often receive time-wasting, unnecessary messages • Second, many e-mails are sloppily written: people simply write down what’s on their mind and press the send button without reflection on content and composition • Third, emotional and ill-considered messages are sometimes send before the writer has had time to calm down • Fourth, messages are occasionally misdirected or forwarded to unintended recipients- sometimes with negative consequences • Fifth, even deleted e-mails can be retrieved for use in disciplinary proceedings or can be subpoenaed for use in legal disputes

19. The e-mail subject line should be the lure that gets your reader interested and signals the contents • For this reason, your subject should meet at least one of the following goals: • Contain your key message: “sales meeting rescheduled to 2 PM on Friday” • Include the desired action or response: “Your comments urgently needed by 4 PM today” • Be specific but not too long: “How about lunch tomorrow?” • Allow your reader to file and retrieve your message easily: “John’s report”

20. In contrast, a weak subject line gives little or no information or too much to be read on one line • If the subject line is too general, vague, or left blank, the reader may skip or delete the message altogether • Remember: busy people receive fifty to one hundred e-mail messages per day. To ensure that yours is opened and read, it must stand out

21. Treat each e-mail as a coherent information packet – to ask a question, communicate your opinion, report news, and so forth • You will achieve coherence if each e-mail contains only one message • If you have more than one message for a recipient, create a separate e-mail for each, and give each a strong, appropriate subject line

22. The one-message e-mail has two major advantages: • 1. the recipient can digest and respond to a single message more easily • 2. if a recipient forwards your e-mail to a third party, other messages – which can be highly inappropriate – won’t be dragged along

23. Structure • Short emails are usually relaxed, informal and unstructured • Long ones, as with letters, the structure consists of three main parts: • 1. introduction - you explain briefly what the message is about • 2. body – the main part of the message • 3. conclusion – rounds the message off and, if you want some kind of action to result from the message, you spell out what it is

24. Hi Jason, • Thanks for your contribution to the meeting yesterday. I thought it was very valuable for all of us. • I’ve been thinking about what you said about new ideas for marketing GKH products in the EU. I spoke to Kate, our Overseas Sales Director, and she’s very interested in the idea. We wonder if you would have a moment to explain your ideas to her – nothing elaborate, just a series of bullet points would do. Then she can evaluate it and, if she decides to proceed, she’ll work up a full scale proposal in collaboration with you. • Perhaps you could let me know if you’d like to do this – and when. • Regards, • Sandra

25. Response • Keep your message as short as feasible • Structure it so that it is easy to read and understand • When you have finished the message, read it through for sense and message