The work meeting is an essential communication tool within a company. What is the purpose of meeting minutes? One of the functions of the latter is to bring together all the staff concerned around a summary of the decisions taken during the meeting, to pass on important information to the participants and to those absent. Here are some tips to help you take notes for this report.
The main steps in taking minutes of a meeting
How do I take minutes of a meeting? Among the first advices we can give, there are some preparation steps to follow to allow a better organization. Indeed, in order to properly transcribe the decisions taken during the meeting, it is advisable to write on computer rather than on paper, which saves time and allows for a smoother proofreading.
Before the meeting, it is recommended that an outline be drawn up which includes the titles of the topics to be discussed as well as any elements already known. These include the date, location, names of participants and the agenda. These elements can be saved on a computer beforehand. In order to be ready to summarize the facilitator’s interventions and the decisions taken as well as the participants’ interventions, the recommended tip is to take as much information as possible and read the relevant documents beforehand.
Another method sometimes used by the debriefer is to record the session, if the organizer allows it. However, it takes more time later to rewrite the minutes.
A tool to make good
meeting minutes ?
Some tips on how to write a report effectively
The key to the effectiveness of the above steps is to take quick and understandable notes. In this way, the elements noted can easily be taken back to summarize the working meeting. The best way tolearning to write a meeting report is to carry out this exercise with an attitude of active listening.
Depending on the type of meeting, one of the easiest ways to record information in a structured way is to use a standard electronic document in table form to get a clearer overall picture. The use of abbreviations for column headings saves space. It may be useful to have a pad of paper available to draw an illustration if needed or to have something to write on in case the computer system has bugs.
The use of abbreviations is also a good trick to shorten the text according to the content. A final tip that makes the steps of note-taking easier is to be confident in your skills and focus on the task at hand. In case some points are missing, it is possible to have another participant read over the minutes of the meeting to complete the information, if necessary.