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| Guide to writing meeting minutes |
The following is a guide for
making this task easier:
- Make sure that all of the essential elements are noted, such
as type of meeting, name of the organization, date and time, name
of the chairman, main topics and the time of adjournment. For
formal and corporate meetings include approval of previous
minutes, and all resolutions.
- Prepare an outline based on the agenda ahead of time, and
leave plenty of white space for notes. By having the topics
already written down, you can jump right on to a new topic without
pause.
- Prepare a list of expected attendees and check off the names
as people enter the room. Or, you can pass around an attendance
sheet for everyone to sign as the meeting starts.
- To be sure about who said what.
- Don't make the mistake of recording every single comment, but
concentrate on getting the gist of the discussion and taking
enough notes to summarize it later. Remember that minutes are the
official record of what happened, not what was said, at a meeting.
- Use whatever device is comfortable for you, a notepad, a
laptop computer or a tape recorder. Many people routinely record
important meetings as a backup to their notes.
- Be prepared! Study the issues to be discussed and ask a lot of
questions ahead of time. If you have to fumble for understanding
while you are making your notes, they won't make any sense to you
later.
- Don't wait too long to type up the minutes, and be sure to
have them approved by the chair or facilitator before distributing
them to the attendees.
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Nick -
2 February, 2008 |
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