How do I take minutes at a meeting?

Question

Just doing a bit of temping - I am presuming its making notes but are there any rules or ways to take minutes? Thanks!

Answer 1

making a good minutes would be comprised of the following:



i. invocation or opening prayer if there is any

ii. attendance of the people who participated the meeting

iii. objectives of the meeting or the agenda (flow of the meeting

iv. a bulleted summary of the things that were discussed (you may even want to jot down those important ideas given by the spokesperson)

v. closing remarks (like the meeting was a success or anything like that)

vi. benediction or closing prayer if there is any



this is how i make minutes of the meeting and it sure is organized and perhaps your boss would like it too.



good luck! Ü

Answer 2

I've done this for several companies. If possible, read some of the minutes from previous minutes. You'll have something to use as an example. If not, include the following info:



Meeting Name:



Date:



Attendees:



If there is an agenda, great .. then you have your topics, If there isn't an agenda, you might ask if what topics will be discussed ahead of time.



Then use the following format:



1. Topic one- If they don't care about the he said she said. Then summerize each topic. If there are any items that are assigned to people, the create an ACTION ITEM under that topic.



ACTION ITEM: John will call Joe to discuss details and report back at next meeting.



Outcome of Topic discussed:



2. Topic two.





Ideally, the last topic item would be:



3. Create agenda for next meeting - the first item for the agenda would be to approve the minutes from the previous meeting.



Sample Agenda:



1. Approve minutes from last meeting

2. Review Action Items from last meeting

3. New topic

4. New topic

5. Open - this area would be for other items that need discussing but are not one the agenda.



The other thing that should be done with the agenda, an allotted amount of time should be set for each topic. This will allow the attendees to know how much time they need to set aside for the meeting and

As time goes, you can set up a template for the meeting becuase you will know what will be discussed.



Normally, you would type up the minutes and the next agenda and provide each attendee with a copy.

Answer 3

Yes, on your pad make a note of the name of the meeting and date. Then the first heading is 'present' - make a list of the people attending. By the name of the chairman of the meeting, write chairman, any other important functions pertinent to the meeting (e.g. treasurer).,

Next put 'apologies' - and list the people who were scheduled to attend the meeting but haven't been able to.

The next title (I think) is 'matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting' - this is the first item of the meeting and it is for people who want to point out that they never got the minutes, or have been edited out, or have been called by the wrong name or something.

Then when the meeting starts, just number the issues on the agenda as the chairman takes the meeting through them. Keep refering to the people present by initials, (or full name the first time in a section) and make a short paraphrase of what they have said. (you will have to, you can't put in every illiterate pause and repetition, that's not what the minutes are for anyway. They are to make a record of points made and responses from those present, you are not compiling a copy of 'Hansard'. Just write along these lines: Mr J Jacobs: I think we would all like to thank Mr & Mrs Doe for the catering done on last Saturdays annual day out.

Mr BB: Seconded JJ on this, and added that the beer was better than the year before.

JJ: Proposed a gift of some sort be presented to Mr & Mrs Doe as a token of the committees gratitude.

BB: Wondered what sort of gift might be appropriate

JJ: Proposed a sub-committee be formed to decide at a later date.

.... (you get the idea)

At the end of the matters on the agenda there comes the 'any other business' bit, which may or may not run on for years as everyone who wants to talk about their particular hobby horse gets in on the act.

Finally the chairman ends it, and the entry in the minutes is something like "the meeting was adjourned at 10:15, the next meeting to be held on Wednesday the 24th of June" or something like that.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Note who is there, when and where the meeting took place and any apologies that there were (ie people that couldn't make it)



Take a general note of what is being said and be careful to jot down any actions (that is things that people say they are going to do after the meeting - eg Jane says "I'll forward you that email" or "I must arrange a meeting to discuss that separately").



Follow the agenda and use this for your headings for each section and as a guide when writing up the minutes.



Note on the minutes the follow up actions and the date of the next meeting if there is one.

Answer 5

yes, in shorthand.

If you're wary then have a backup. Either ask someone to join you or ask another person who will be attending to fill in what you don't get so you can get the gest of what the decision was but that person can fill in the names of who said what and what organizations or projects were talked about. If you are unsure of yourself then state that in the meeting as sometimes you might be introduced. Smile and say this is new to you and you're slow and would appreciate if time elapsed between topics so you can catch up.



You might want to read the minutes from the past few meetings to familiarize yourself with how the group speaks and what's on the agenda.

Answer 6

Start by writing down all present. Then any apologies for people who couldn't make it. Then its just a matter of writing down notes on everything said & by who. It's ok to summarise, no-one expects word for word. just main points. Write down what you feel is important and who is to take any action & what that action is. Write down any other business brought up during the meeting that wasn't originally going to be discussed. Finally you need to note the date and time of the next meeting due. Then type up the minutes, circulate them to everyone who was at the meeting + anyone else absent but who should have been there (ie. from your apology list.) then go to the bar and say phew!!!

Answer 7

ergh my worst nightmare. Do you do shorthand ?



You need names of all people attending & where they are from. Apologies from people not attending that were invited.



You need to make notes of who said what. Decisions made, late arrivals or early departures.



My boss tried to take minutes by using a dictaphone haha, don't bother as there was a lot of background noise, papers ruffling etc but you couldnt understand a word that was said.



Shorthand is the best way to do this especially if it is quite a large meeting.

Answer 8

.I can't believe that there are bosses that are disrespecting woman like this today. They should be up-to-date and have a recording system that you can use. They don't want to spend the money so they expect you to get everything right. Who uses shorthand anymore that is so 80's. Just having trouble believing this question in 2007. Move to California we have ways of treating Administrative Professionals as human beings.





Grow up Administrative Professionals you have more to do than sit in a meeting with blow hards.





Your voice is important to the company also. Speak up for yourselves.





No business can run without you...

Answer 9

If there is an agenda get a copy to use to organize you minutes. Make sure you get the correct spellings on names and technical items. I have used a small recorder along with a note pad.

Answer 10

Take a look at the minutes of the last meeting -the ones that have to be agreed before the next meeting can go ahead.



Then crib a bit.

No one cares anyway.

Answer 11

I take minutes at meetings. It isn't just who said what and when. There is a skill to it - and dos and donts.



Make sure you write down FACTS. You dont need to write a script of who said what constantly. Just summarise. E.g., Mr Jones suggested improvements to the office halls.



You dont need to write down word for word. Just report and action anything deemed necessary.

Answer 12

Make sure you first write the date, time and all the names of the people that are attending. Chances are you will be sending them out in email so if you forget someone that has an action item it will be your fault. Speaking of, make sure you use bullet points at the bottom of who got what action items.

Bob J - set up conference

Sue L - invite clients



So when somebody forgets to do something your *** is covered!

Answer 13

Make brief notes then make it up (nobody ever remembers what they said as it is usually bullsh*t to impress the meeting)when you write up the minutes. Get these approved by the chairman of the meeting. Easy Peasy

Answer 14

you can get a template of microsoft website and follow it or just write what topics where talked about , who was there, what was voted on, what was the meeting, the next schedule and any other information needed for the next meeting

Answer 15

There's no right/wrong way as such - the best thing to do is to look at previous minutes so you can check how your company likes them to be laid out.

Answer 16

I used to use Gregg shorthand.

Answer 17

Shorthand or longhand help...They just probably updated it to minutes...

Answer 18

could anyone enlighten me as to what a Minute is??

i have no clue..

Answer 19

who said what and dont write if they sat dont minute this

Answer 20

with a pen and paper