Minute Taking

Course Overview

Minute Taking is an essential part of of the meeting process and, in many cases, a legal requirement. Whether you are conducting online meetings or face to face meetings, the recording of information and capturing thoughts, ideas, decisions and actions is extremely important yet it should also be an easy process - so we show you how.

Is This Course Right For You?

If you are responsible for taking minutes at meetings, then the tools and techniques covered in this course will prove invaluable.

What Will I Learn?

• Personal preparation - What's on your checklist to do prior to the meeting?

• Create the right environment - Consider what is important to attend to within the actual room

• Attending the meeting - What's your role during the meeting?

• Taking notes - The mechanics of actually taking minutes

• Structuring notes - Develop the skill of taking structured notes

• Writing up the minutes - How to speed up writing the notes, get approval and amend, styles of minutes

• Sections of a meeting - What are the various sections of the meeting?

• Recording decisions and actions - Tips for getting it right

• Business English for minutes - Grammar, spelling and vocabulary tips

Detailed Course Content

Introduction

• Background

• Cycle of a meeting

• The participants

Personal Preparation

• Read the agenda and papers

• Talk to the chairperson and others

• Consider who's who

• Confirm administrative arrangements

• Get the equipment together

• Signed copy of the minutes

• Last minute minute taker

• Personal preparation checklist

Create The Right Environment

• Create a professional impression

• Freshen the room

• Layout and refreshments

• Be there to greet

• Mobile phones and pagers

Attending The Meeting

• Where to sit

• Finding out who's who

• Not understanding

• Hearing

• Minuting and argument

• Skivvying

• Coping with numbers/figures

• Maintaining concentration and focus

• Contributing minute taker

Taking Notes

• The mechanics of writing

• Taking notes

• Look as well as listen

• The message not the words

• Developing the skills

Structuring Notes

• Follow the agenda

• Structuring the notes

• Using the structure

Writing Up The Minutes

• Speeding up the process

• If you can't type them for a few days

• Get the chairperson's approval

• Dealing with amendments

Style Of Minutes

• Summary

• Verbatim

• Action

Sections Of A Meeting

• Introduction/welcome, apologies

• Committee business 

• Minutes of the last meeting

• Matters arising, reports

• Agenda items, any other business

• Date of the next meeting

Recording Decisions And Actions

• The action triangle

• Where there is no outcome

• Layout of action points

• Where there are several action points

Layout

• Page layout and headings

• Layout for 'present' etc

• Numbering

Business English For Minutes

• Vocabulary and spelling

• Abbreviations

• Punctuation

• Hyphens

• Exclamation marks