Minute Taking Made Easy

What Are Minutes?

We know that minutes are historical documents, but do you know your responsibilities as minute taker? Many people learn how to complete their minutes by following the example of the minute taker previous to them. Don’t sabotage your career by following a bad example.

• What should minutes contain? (and why?)
• What should they NOT contain? (and why not?)
• Roles of the minute taker and the legalities entailed
• The importance of accurate minutes
• Avoid the “Bob said”, “Mary said” challenge
• What is going to matter after the meeting? Get rid of extraneous details and conversation

Before the Meeting

Ever had to take minutes with no previous warning? What should you do then? Or have you been appointed minute taker because no one else will do it? This section of our program discusses how we can be as prepared as possible. Why set ourselves up for disaster if we don’t have to?

• Questions to ask
• Before the meeting checklist (a valuable tool you can use over and over again!)

Listening Skills

Uh-oh. Listening is an art! How do I focus on what is important with everyone speaking simultaneously? How do I know what is important (and what really isn’t)? Together, we will complete a listening skills inventory to allow you to evaluate your own listening skills. You will identify where your weak spots are - so you can avoid the pitfalls in the next meeting! (Just in case your meetings are sometimes boring and it is hard to focus!)

• Active listening – how do I do that?
• Why don’t we listen? What distractions cause us to miss an important point?
• Listening responses and how to use them while taking minutes
• How to listen for what is important and what isn’t

Different Formats for Taking Minutes

We give you copies/templates of all styles of minutes. You will feel confident that your minutes are a real reflection of what happened, and they contain all the important information.

• How not to get stuck taking a transcript and focus on highlights
• Creating a report, action log, or executive summary from what happened
• Online meetings and minutes – what happens when you are taking virtual minutes?

The Agenda

When should the agenda be sent out? What is the point of amending an agenda? How does it reflect on the final version of the typed minutes? During group discussions, we will discover all the different formats people are using and how to get the agenda to work best for you!

Organization of Minutes

How do I know what to do and what not to do? You will receive a list of important tips on business writing (which can be used outside of minute taking).

Formal Terms Simplified

Finally – someone will tell you what all those complicated terms mean! What are my roles when the meeting is “in camera”? What should I do when we don’t have enough people to conduct a legal meeting (quorum)? Your handy reference tool.

When you leave at the end of the two days, you will leave with skills that will allow you to take accurate minutes immediately! Your confidence will be higher, your skills will be current and up to date, and you will have a handy reference tool (that you won’t find in any bookstore)! Give yourself the boost to do a difficult job right and actually enjoy doing it!