Professional Minute Taking

The aim of our Minute taking course is to help delegates to take and write better minutes of meetings and to do so more easily and speedily.

It covers working with the Chair, preparation, summarising, formatting the agenda and the minutes, taking good (but not copious) notes and writing clear minutes. Lessons learned are applicable to most types of meetings.

This is a popular course in both the public and private sectors, and with both junior and more senior staff. Minute taking practice is built into the course.

Organisational benefits of 'Taking and Writing Minutes' include: better minutes - often shorter too, better communications and a saving in time and effort for Chairs and committee members as well as minute takers.

Course Content

Taking meeting minutes - writing minutes
Purpose of meetings; purpose and styles of minutes
Determining how much detail is needed
Formats and content of the agenda
Formats and content of the minutes
How to prepare well before taking minutes
Who is responsible for what?
Working with the Chair - getting his/her help with your minute taking
Listening skills
Improving note taking
Turning notes into meeting minutes
Editing
Summary and action plans

Skills

Course Description:
Taking and Writing Minutes
The purpose of your meeting and your minutes.
How much detail is really needed in your minutes?
What minute style is best for your meetings?

Taking Minutes – The Agenda
The purpose, content and structure of the meeting's agenda.
What the items mean.
Writing the agenda as a control tool for the Chair.
Adequate and inadequate agendas.

Taking Minutes – Format of Minutes
What goes where?
Making the minutes useful but easy to read.
Terminology such as In attendance, Apologies, Matters Arising, Committee Business, Any
Other Business, etc.
Coping with items like part-time attendance, in-hand, completed, etc.
Some conventions.

Taking Minutes - Responsibilities and Preperation
You and the Chair - Who does what?
Before, during and after the meeting.
Good preparation.
Building a working partnership.

Taking Minutes - Listening and Note Taking:
Barriers to good listening. What gets in the way? Overcoming the barriers.
Tips for improving your listening when taking minutes.
Workable ideas for improving note taking.
Keeping up. What to do when you get lost.
Using the 80:20 rule.

Taking Minutes – From Notes to Minutes
A professional writer's technique to make writing minutes easier and better.
Writing the draft minutes - just one draft!
Editing the draft minutes into the final version.