Meetings and Minutes

By Sally Butler
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the training program, participants will
be able to:
Prepare for a meeting
Take minutes (or notes) of a meeting
Proof read work, use spellcheck, and use appropriate language
Ensure minutes or meeting notes avoid jargon
Identify the data protection requirements of written documentation
Summarise information in easy to understand English
Recognise how much information to record or to exclude
Get essential information down before the group moves on
Collaborate with the meeting leader/Chair and make your job easier
Complete your meeting notes and minutes promptly



Definition
The role of the minute taker
is to produce a document for
several other people to read,
which summarises the
meeting and actions to be
taken.
A meeting is a gathering
where people speak up, say
nothing, and then all
disagree. Kayser [38]
Effective meetings
1. Suitable venue
2. Reliable equipment
3. Punctual start
4. Well-structured agenda
5. Clear purpose and objectives
6. All necessary paperwork to
hand
7. Assertively chaired
8. No hidden agendas
9. No political manoeuvring
10. Meeting not overly long
11. Timed agenda items and
adhered to
12. Contributions from all
members encouraged


13. Good level of preparation by
all
14. Active participation
15. Active listening by all
participants
16. Freedom to express views
17. Willingness to take
responsibility for actions
18. Clear decisions, no
ambiguity, consensus
19. Clearly defined actions
20. Correct use of AOB
21. Meeting concluded on time

Ineffective meetings
1. Poorly defined purpose
2. Lack of clear objectives
3. Lack of preparation
4. Held when not required
5. Held too frequently
6. Not held frequently enough
7. Held simply as a matter of routine
8. Key participants missing
9. Wrong people invited
10. No timings on agenda items
11. Poor punctuality
12. Unsuitable venue
13. Unclear decisions and actions


14. Autocratic chairperson
15. Passive chairperson
16. Little participation from some
members
17. Strong personalities allowed to
dominate
18. Irrelevant discussion
19. Aggressive contributions
tolerated
20. Disruptive behaviour tolerated
21. Excessively long
22. Hidden agendas
23. Political manoeuvring
24. Misuse of AOB

Why Groups Meet
Make Decisions
Socialize
Build Trust
Review projects
Share Visions
Gain Consensus
Solve Problems
Share work

Long Range Planning
Handling Emergencies
Education
Training
Information Exchange
Sales
Reorganization
Build Teams (motivate)

Purpose of the meeting
Board Meeting
Heads of
Department
meeting
Team meetings
Performance
Meeting
Client Meeting
Sales meeting
Problem Solving
Brainstorming
meeting
Information
giving/gathering
Project Meetings
Activity your meetings
Why have minutes?
What are minutes used for?
Recoding discussions
Recording actions and enabling follow up
Legal and/or audit purposes
Informing non attendees
Showing attendees and apologies
Giving structure to the process
The Shoulds of minutes
Record main points not every contribution
Brief and easy to read
Clear for someone not present to understand
Be written in past tense
Be accurate, grammatically correct and
concise
Be consistent in their form an content
ACTIVITY- analyse and compare
Before the Meeting
The Agenda
What to include:
Title of meeting
Objectives
Attendees
Date, time and duration
Location
What to bring
Chair
Topic
Time allocated to each
participant
Provide before meeting
Description of the
meeting objectives, a
list of topics to be
covered, and a list
stating who will address
each topic and for how
long
Assign meeting
preparation to engage
meeting attendees

Pre-meeting Prep for Note Taker
Prepare yourself - Read previous minutes
Make notes of terms used build a glossary
Set, or prepare a clear agenda
Book room and send out appointments with completed
agenda + previous minutes and additional notes
Guest speakers Do they need to be there for all the
meeting?
Book refreshments
Make an attendance sheet monitor who is attending
(outlook)
Create a template agenda items and space for notes
Action Point register?

The meeting
On the day
Set out room so everyone
can hear/adequate lighting,
heating, comfort,
Prepare refreshments/
water
Provide paper/pens
Provide a spare copy of the
agenda/previous minutes
for those who come
unprepared
Ensure equipment is
working, (laptop, projector,
audio recording device)
Bring your notes template
During the Meeting
Pass around attendance sheet?
Make a note of apologies /not replied
Introductions
Familiarise yourself with the names/details /seating
Follow agenda
Sit near the chair
Remain objective / possibly quiet?
Make appropriate notes
Capture action points and who is responsible for
what and when
Gather any additional papers circulated
Ensure that any follow up meetings are agreed
including date/time/venue
After the Meeting
Immediately after the meeting
Unclear about a point? Clarify whilst it is fresh
in their minds
Review notes and add additional comments
Ensure room is left clear
After the meeting - Writing up
Write first draft asap after meeting you will have a
better memory of what happened
Delay in minutes delay in action!
Mark as draft until agreed
Begin with explanation of the purpose of the meeting
Add name of minutes to footer with version 1
Decide what to include/take out - Remember enough
info for anyone missing to understand the context
Introduce each new minute with an explanation
Proofing
Proof headers / sub-headers
Read out loud & use your finger
Add footnotes
When finished ask chair to review for errors
Once approved by chair distribute to relevant people
Keep a copy of your notes just in case you have any queries
later
If corrections come back to you from participants make a
note and include in the Chairs briefing note for the next
meeting when they should be signed off
Dont be sensitive about errors
Note Taking
The key skill that a minute-taker needs is the
ability to record the message, not the words.
Minutes are not a record of what was said. They
are a record of what was discussed. Gutmann
(Taking Minutes of Meetings)
Note Taking in a Meeting
Create an outline (from agenda) with spaces for either
writing/typing
Check-off attendees
Dont start writing immediately people start speaking
Ask for clarification if necessary
Avoid emotional content be objective
Dont try to capture it all actively listen for outcomes,
decisions and action points
Additional documents dont re-write them add to
appendix
Record it if verbatim notes needed (legal situation)
Dictaphone / Smart phone Microphone on laptop
Making note taking more simple
Use short-hand use abbreviations phrases not
sentences
Keep writing small and close together makes you
quicker pen less time on paper
Dont press too hard tiring
Dont use capital letters - pen doesnt flow
Dont write too close to the edge slows you down
Keep a spare pen tends to run out
Number the pages (if loose leaf)
Miss out small words apart from not!
Writing notes
Dont try to write your
minutes as you listen
just make notes the
minutes you will type
later. Trying to write
minutes will cause panic
as you will miss
something!
Barriers to note taking
Practice
Summarising
When summarising, you
need to look for the key
words and underline
them.
Ask yourself does the
meaning remain when I
read only the
highlighted words?
Now using the
highlighted words make
a shorter statement
Verbs, Nouns and Adjectives
A sentence must include a verb and a noun
i.e. Mary wept (Mary (name or subject) noun,
Wept (action word) verb

Punctuation
Whats the difference between a cat and a comma?
A cat has claws at the end of its paws and a
Comma is a pause at the end of a clause!
The all important punctuation
She cooks her family and her dog
(yes, the dog does looks worried!)
Rather finds inspiration in
cooking, her family, and her dog.
Or stop clubbing baby seals!
POEM
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased to no
Its letter perfect it its weigh
My chequer tolled me sew
- anonymous
Spelling

COMMON GRAMMAR ERRORS
ACTIVE VS PASSIVE
Re-cap
Before the meeting
On the day
During the meeting
After the meeting
Grammar / spelling?
Writing up
Tips for note taking