Writing Effective Meeting Minutes GF143

Are your minutes too long or too short? Are you having trouble deciding what to record and what to discard? Do you lose track of the discussion in a meeting while trying to write everything down? This course will help you build your confidence and enhance your efficiency.

Learning Objective

Taking notes and writing minutes are often viewed as demanding and complex tasks. Indeed, the role of meeting secretary requires unfailing concentration, careful listening, an excellent ability to synthesize information, as well as the skills to distinguish the essential from the trivial. This course is designed to help participants perform their duties as meeting secretaries with ease and efficiency. They will learn to take accurate and useful notes and create minutes that capture the essence of the discussions and address the needs of their audience.

Who should attend

All members of the organization who are required to take notes and write minutes

Prerequisites

None

Content

Introduction

•  What are the main differences between the minutes of formal and informal meetings?

The Environment

• Who are the players involved in a meeting?
• What is the role of each?
• How can meetings become more efficient?

Documents to be sent before the meeting

• Notice of meeting and invitations
• Agenda
• Preparatory documentation

The minutes in detail

• Roles
• Qualities of effective minutes
• Characteristics
• Types of minutes
• Structure

Effective note taking

• Goals and factors that guide note taking
• Common note-taking challenges
• Note-taking tools
• Abbreviations
• Strategies to adopt before, during and after the meeting to take effective notes and draft relevant minutes

The Writing Process

• Particular writing tips for minutes
• Concepts of clear and concise writing
• Editing method

Methodology

• Presentations, hands-on exercises and discussions
• Extensive documentation to support learning
• Numerous online writing resources