If you have been assigned the task of writing meeting minutes, it is no reason to panic. The process presented can be a manageable task if you prepare properly. For some, writing meeting minutes may seem mundane, while others may have never encountered it. You should end up with clear and accurate text. No matter how you feel about the task, a meeting minutes document is necessary for any public organisation or private company that regularly holds meetings and other important appointments.
If you want to know how to write meeting minutes, read our article. We offer you a complete guide so that employees of various companies and organisations can easily understand this issue. In addition, please note that depending on the particular organisation, or company, the official record may differ in different parameters: style, format, content and so on. This point should be clarified with the manager or any other authorised employee. You can go straight to the following article if there are no such requirements.
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Effective meeting minutes are submitting discussions and decisions in a written format. This document may be required in various situations: government entities, trade unions, and private companies need them. If a meeting requires an official record, it should have separate minutes. The transcript or written report can then be used by other employees who were not present at the meeting to monitor the progress of decisions made and the implementation of specific approved actions.
It is also worth noting that a time meeting has nothing to do with this document since the minutes do not imply a time meeting but a list of specific decisions. In simple terms, then write meeting is a brief or detailed statement of what happened during the meeting. The secretary is often in charge of writing the document.
Effective meeting minutes can tell a lot, but keeping a POMINUTE record of everything that happened at the meeting is unnecessary. The most important requirement is that the secretary should capture the essence of the meeting and record the meeting minutes major arguments:
Meeting minutes is a written record of the meeting. The main purpose of this document is to serve as a source of useful information for other team members who were not at the meeting. In some situations, meeting notes are used as a starting point if:
To write effective meeting minutes are necessary to prove why and how the company made a certain decision. The advantage of this document is that it answers various questions that may arise because of the decisions made. Other positive features of meeting notes include the following:
Also, the help of the documents provided legal protection for the company. Most often, all decisions are formalised and documented to confirm that the company operates ethically and in good faith. Local bylaws may even be listed in the text to prove the decisions’ legitimacy.
Recording meeting minutes is not just a list of decisions made; in fact, the style of writing and the content of the minutes itself may vary depending on the company and its structure. At the same time, taking notes requires knowledge of the basics (what kind of information should always be present in the document) – roll call participants, date and time of the meeting. In addition, other data may also be required: supplementary documents and other actions.
If you are wondering how to write meeting minutes, we suggest you read our following useful, practical tips. We have compiled all the important information for beginners to make taking notes a straightforward process that you can easily follow.
Effective and efficient write meeting begins long before the meeting takes place. In particular, planning how exactly the documentation will occur is necessary. In this situation, the following important points need to be determined
Meeting minutes should have a certain format and a list of necessary information. Next, you should define the format of the meeting: it can be a board of directors, an informal meeting with department heads, a meeting with clients, a discussion of an upcoming project, and so on. In addition, it is necessary to explain “Why?” this meeting was decided to document. In this situation, clearly state the reason for calling the meeting and what exactly it was intended to achieve.
The agenda is your overall plan for meeting notes. Use each item on your agenda as a separate section to write down all the important information, including all the important decisions and results. You can also send out the agenda to all meeting participants so that everyone can think about their contribution to the meeting and think about suggestions in advance. This way, you can be sure that someone may attend the meeting without realising what will be discussed. In addition, you should outline the agenda items, describe the roll call, and create a list of meeting participants.
Meeting notes should include more details that are of paramount importance. In the text of the minutes, it is necessary to record the main actions and decisions made briefly but certainly as informative as possible. After summarising the meetings, you can always go back to the minutes to add additional resources, details and other important information. That is why it is best to write down the minutes on paper and in a text file on your computer to make it much easier and faster to edit, add new data or remove unnecessary information.
If you plan writing minutes, one of the most important points of the future minutes is to list all the meeting participants. In this case, the document can include not only the direct participants but also those people who, for certain reasons, could not attend the meeting. The list of participants is often provided at the beginning of the document after the purpose of the meeting has been documented.
Most often, a separate time is always set aside at the beginning of the meeting to allow for edits or corrections to the minutes of the last meeting so that the secretary can assess who was at the last meeting (so that they already have a draft list of all participants in the meeting). Alternatively, you can use the meeting invitation list to ensure all invited participants are in the room. In this situation, you only need to check the list.
Meetings can be considered productive if they result in a list of specific actions to be taken by various employees. Meeting minutes should include a clear list of any decisions made and actions approved as soon as they are agreed upon so that it is easier for you to transcribe. Of course, it is impossible to write everything down completely in maximum detail during a meeting. In this situation, you need to focus on all the essentials that are of paramount importance.
To avoid losing all important decisions and necessary actions in the future, it is best to highlight them in the meeting minutes using bold, underlined, numbered/marked lists and other highlighting options. Writing down specific steps will allow for a clear distribution of responsibility among the company’s employees. In addition, specific time limits can also be set for certain tasks. At the same time, remember not to overload meeting minutes with unnecessary data – everything should be simple, clear and concise.
Note-taking also requires summarising the results of the meeting and the date of the next meeting, which will be about the implementation of the project or the topic of discussion. Participants should have easy access to a timeline of exactly how much time they have been given to complete their tasks. Estimating the time allows the next meeting to manage resources wisely and prioritise the list of steps.
Also, in the end, include supplementary documents to send to meeting participants and other staff members along with the meeting report. Be sure to consider whether any papers were used or mentioned in the meeting and what necessary documents other team members will need (data on project adjustments, updates to decisions or company policies, etc.).
Summarise the results as soon as you have finished the meeting notes while you still have fresh memories of what was discussed in great detail:
Also, be sure to check the meeting notes for spelling errors. After writing, reread the text and make revisions if necessary.
Note-taking using a ready-made template saves time and simplifies your work as much as possible. A ready-made outline points out all your follow-ups while writing the minutes. Writing the meeting on a laptop is also easiest, so you don’t have to retype the notes later. Additionally, you can use a recording device (the easiest way is to take a smartphone and activate the voice recorder option on it).
At the same time, if you have any questions during the meeting, feel free to ask them to avoid more problems after the meeting. Due diligence and attentiveness are the undoubted advantages of a secretary. There should always be room for clarity in the minutes.
If you have to write meeting minutes, one of the most effective solutions is to familiarise yourself with a ready-made template where you need to substitute the relevant data. If management requires you to take meeting minutes, you can use one of the following examples, depending on the meeting format.
An official record is needed when you must document official or important company decisions that need approval. It can be board meeting minutes or any other important events. In this situation, it is imperative to use official language and record information so that future meeting documents can be shown to all attendees voting members.
Formal meetings often have minutes approved that must be followed. In this situation, the template is often as follows:
With the assistance of the meeting owner, a regular company meeting has been called on a date and time.
Meeting participants:
Next, you should list the names of the people present at the meeting (board members, secretary, department heads, and others):
1. Person 1
2. Person 2
3. Person 3
Approval of previous meeting minutes:
Before starting the board meeting and approving official decisions, the minutes of the previous meeting must first be approved:
Agenda items:
The following lists past agenda items that must be formally approved at this meeting.
New business:
Some new businesses may be put before the board members, requiring their vote, correction, and discussion. Also, new business may be postponed indefinitely. All of this needs to be recorded in the minutes.
Meeting concludes:
The meeting can be concluded once the meeting purpose has been achieved and all issues have been discussed and reflected in the official minutes. In this situation, it is indicated:
The facilitator announced the end of the meeting (meeting date).
Approval of Minutes:
The board chair should review and approve the minutes. This section should include the following:
It may also be necessary to write meeting minutes that were held in an informal format. The document is used as a small reference on important topics raised at the meeting: you can find out meeting details, what issues were raised, deadlines for certain tasks and so on.
If your company does not have a specific format for informal meetings, you can use ready-made meeting-minute templates to keep the notes provided. Note that in this situation, the minutes are needed to record decisions and what steps will be taken in the future. Productive meetings in this situation can be recorded as follows:
Regular company meeting held meeting date.
Meeting attendees:
Approval of Last Meeting Minutes:
Reports:
Decisions taken:
Next meeting:
If it was decided that the meeting will be postponed, the next meeting date and who agreed it should be stated:
If you want to write effective meeting minutes, use a ready-made template we have prepared. The presented meeting minutes template has all the necessary information regarding the meeting, date and time, etc. If you have to document the progress and togas of a daily meeting, you can record it as follows:
Date and time of daily meeting: ____.
Meeting participants:
Previous meeting minutes:
You must indicate previous meeting minutes and the outstanding issues from the last directors’ meeting.
Meeting agenda:
Board meeting minutes should have reports from the company’s department heads, other board members and meeting participants. Next are agenda items:
List specific actions:
Next comes a meeting report, where you should list the decisions discussed or what steps will be taken next. The written record should also include specific steps to be taken and who will do them:
Summary:
Complete the written record by providing the following information in this document:
If you want to write effective meeting minutes, check out the special event templates. Note that the events presented can be different, but in this situation, we will consider writing meeting notes with clients:
Project: state the name of the project.
Meeting attendees: list all attendees by name.
Date and time: ____.
Agenda:
1. Meeting agenda.
2. Purpose of the meeting.
3. What were the main points decided at the meeting.
Additional notes:
Any additional important information discussed with the clients during the meeting can be included here.
Meeting Outcomes:
List what was achieved during the discussion, key points, issues resolved, and actions taken or will be after the parties’ agreement.
Actions:
Next, you need to specify each action in writing point by point.
