Key Steps in achieving successful Meeting Minutes

A perfect meeting minutes requires Six Key steps , categorise in 3 categories i.e Before , During and After

Before 

1) Prepare: Make the necessary preparations 

During 

2) Observe: Watch and listen to the discussions

3) Record: Take appropriate notes

After

4) Evaluate: Sort your notes into logical chunks

5) Draft: Write the first draft as soon as possible

6) Publish: Incorporate any amendments and publish

Preparation - Understand your role

If you want to have perfect minutes for meetings you need to be prepared before the meeting starts.

Meet the chairperson. If you don’t know them, try to have a short meeting with the chairperson to clarify:

·       The terms of reference, so you can understand the purpose of the group and its objectives.

·       What represents a quorum? The minimal number of officers and members of a committee or organisation, usually a majority, who must be present for valid transaction of business.

·       What they expect of you.

·       How you will work together during the meeting.

·       How they want to handle the process of approving the draft minutes.

Why is it necessary to publish minutes?

Clarify with the chairperson why minutes are published. There are at least six reasons:

·       To record action points.

·       To record discussions.

·       To document why decisions were taken.

·       To provide a record for legal or contractual purposes.

·       To inform people not at the meeting of what happened.

·       To prove people attended and expressed a point of view.

Meeting secretary

Before the meeting:

·       Meet with the Chairperson and discuss what you each expect of the other.

·       Manage all the administrative arrangements for the meeting, eg book the venue, order any equipment, and plan any refreshments.

·       Read any earlier documents, eg minutes of earlier meetings, reports, etc, to understand the style required.

·       Familiarise yourself with the issues and the personalities.

·       Prepare any documentation required for the meeting. eg the agenda, position papers, etc.

·       Check the venue just before the meeting starts to ensure that all is well.   

During the meeting:

·       Provide close support for the Chairperson.

·       Have any related documents or papers readily to hand.

·       Make notes in sufficient detail to write the minutes.

·       Subtly prompt the Chairperson should the meeting stray from the agenda.

·       Be ready to provide summaries of action points or discussions.

·       Clarify anything you don’t understand.

·       Keep a list of any outstanding issues.

After the meeting:

·       Return the venue to a clean and tidy state - destroy any confidential materials.

·       Meet with the Chairperson and discuss how the follow-up should be managed.

·       Write and circulate the draft minutes or action points for the meeting.

·       Make any advance preparations for the next meeting, if required.

·       Incorporate any changes or additions into the draft minutes, and publish the final version.

·       Discuss with the Chairperson how things might be improved next time.

Making notes for perfect minutes for meetings

How much detail is required?

·       Fully attributed or ‘verbatim’

·       Summary

·       Action points or agreements

·       Capture ‘special’ quotes. 

Always note in precise detail:

·       Figures, e.g. sales forecasts or sums of money.

·       Dates.

·       Names of people, countries, companies or institutions.

·       References to relevant documents, e.g. Acts of Parliament or regulations.

·       Clarify anything you don’t understand.

·       Keep your notes organised.

·       Collect any supporting documents.

Use lulls in the discussion to review, clarify and expand your notes whilst the information is still fresh in your mind.