Effective Minutes Writing

Minutes are not just for the record; very often, it is also the basis for action and decisions.

Many of us may have been asked to take minutes of meeting although we may not be the meeting secretary. The task of minutes writing is no longer reserved for secretaries or personal assistants only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to take up this important task.

As minutes provide an official record of what has taken place during the meeting, you must be very accurate and clear. You need to know how much to take down during a meeting and how to write them correctly; you also need to be able to choose the appropriate type of minutes recording styles suitable for its purpose. You also need to know how to phrase what has been spoken so that it represents the tone accurately and is politically acceptable. This course will equip you with these essential skills and techniques through lectures, examples, group discussions and practice sessions.

After the workshop, you will be able to:
- have an overall understanding of how meetings are conducted
- know the techniques for taking and summarising notes of meetings
- write the different types of minutes and use the appropriate language for them
- write minutes clearly, concisely and professionally

What you will learn
Nature of Minutes
- purposes
- variations in meeting proceedings
- problems faced by minutes takers

The Importance of Minutes
- conciseness
- accuracy and completeness
- political acceptability
- representation of the tone

Notice and Agenda Writing

Common Meeting Terms

Different Types of Minutes Recording

Style in Minutes
- paragraph size
- sentence length
- note form or sentences
- attributability
- tense
- reported speech
- active and passive voice
- numbering
- punctuation
- notes

Vocabulary
- choice of words
- ambiguous wording
- buzzwords
- unnecessary stock phrases
- colloquial expressions

Standard Layouts of Minutes and House Styles

Note-taking Techniques

Summarising Discussions

Who Should Attend?
Administrative staff and anyone who needs to take minutes.

Methodology
Participants are guided through practical steps of the topic with a combination of lectures, case studies and group discussions.