How to Take Effective Minutes

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How to Take Effective Minutes

• Patricia AndersonAnderson Business Consulting
  Services (ABCs)
• abcs_at_bellsouth.net

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Objectives

• Develop effective minute taking skills
• Provide tools techniques to enable skills
• Introduce minute taking methods
• Cover essential topics in a short time
• Preparation for minute taking
• Active listening
• Critical thinking
• Accurate and clear writing

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Benefits

• Learn to use tools
• Develop listening and writing skills
• Develop speed writing skills
• Identify key and main points
• Develop comprehension skills

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Purpose of Minutes

• Provide clear, concise, coherent, and accurate
  summary of meeting
• Records decisions of meeting and actions agreed
  upon
• Inform about day to day operations
• Critical to organizations operations
• Provide a review document for next meeting
• Used to measure progress
• Individuals performance or non-performance is
  visible
• Used to recommend action
• Furnish information to make decisions
• Individuals get exact info needed without having
  to wade through superfluous info or needing to be
  present (opportunity costs)
• Minutes should be about what was done, not what
  was said! (should be final results oriented)

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Minutes Should

• Summarize discussions
• Accurately summarize decisions and agreed actions
• Provide a prompt for matters to be discussed at
  next meeting
• Provide group members and staff account of
  decisions

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Minutes Should Include

• Name of group
• Time date and location of meeting
• Name of person chairing the meeting
• Name and titles of all present
• Apologies for absence
• All items discussed in order of agenda
• And other business
• Agreed actions and who will perform (action
  items)
• Attachments of documents relevant to meeting
• Time of adjournment
• Minutes should be approved at next meeting!

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Minutes Should Avoid

• Point-by-point account of discussions
• Specifying who said what
• Reports on off-track discussions
• Optional items that could embarrass someone

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Minutes Tips

• Objectivity
• do not interpret mood or tone
• Consistency
• Comply with content and format standards that are
  organizations policy
• Professionalism
• Proofread technical terms before circulating
  minutes
• Logical flow
• All events that relate to an item should be
  grouped together
• Archive(-ability)
• Minutes should be easy to archive and retrieve
  electronically

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Ask Yourself This Question

• Would someone who did not attend the meeting
  understand
• The main points of the discussion?
• The decisions reached?
• The required actions?

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Meeting Preparation

• Designate a meeting time that allows all
  participants time to prepare adequately
• Make yourself available for questions that may
  arise (facilitator)
• Make an agenda with detailed notes

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Conducting a Meeting

• Choose right participants
• contributors, decision makers, problem solvers
• Keep participants to a maximum of 12
• Ensure that people in attendance correspond with
  agenda
• Start the discussion and encourage active
  participation
• Keep meeting at a comfortable pace
• Ensure no one individual is dominating
• Summarize discussion and recommendations at end
  of each logical section (time constraints)
• Make it clear in the meeting, who is responsible
  for what

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During MeetingMeetings are tools for generating
ideas, expanding thought processes, and managing
group activities

• Listen carefully
• Avoid shorthand(may result in too much detail/has
  to be transcribed later -time)
• Accurately note facts, decisions, actions
• Point of view write for someone (important) who
  is absent

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After Meeting

• Write minutes ASAP
• Be concise
• Write in the third person and past tense (It was
  reported that
• Follow the order of the agenda
• Give each item a heading
• Record the exact wording of actions
• Use speech marks for direct quotes
• Do not use jargon or abbreviation

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Preparation for Minute Taking

• Take a real interest in the meeting, project
• If you are an active participant study issues,
  and have questions prepared
• Prepare an outline based on agenda with white
  space to take notes
• Topic, Discussion, Action, Person Responsible
• Prepare a list of expected attendees, and check
  off names as they arrive
• Make a map of seating arrangement
• Arrive at meeting room early
• Make sure you can put name to face
• Use initials to save time
• Know key decision makers and influencers

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Preparation for Minute Taking

• Write in double space so you can insert later
• Pick up key words or phrases (act as triggers)
• think in terms of issues discussed, major points
  raised, and decisions taken
• Use preferred recording device (notepad, laptop,
  recorder, etc.)
• Record (audio) important meetings as back up to
  your notes
• Use abbreviations and symbols (arrows, brackets)
• Bring date book (yours and managers) to note if
  dates are available
• Remember the process of taking notes gives you
  a deeper understanding of the issues faced, and
  the ability to focus on whats important
  (critical thinking!)

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Preparing the Minutes

• Do this right away (24 hour turn-around)
• Know format conventions (using names, versus
  third person
• Convey sentiment not precise words in the case of
  heated discussions
• Condense lengthy discussions with
• After a general discussion, it was decided that
• Convey the action statement (what was decided
  clearly and accurately
• Maintain confidentiality of draft until approved

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Questions?