Effective Minute Taking
Course duration: 1 day
Course overview
Does your organisation need concise minutes that accurately reflect the decisions taken and actions agreed at a meeting? Would you like to be confident that the notes taken and the minutes created will produce a valuable record of a meeting?
Aims and objectives
Participants discover the tricks of the trade on this highly practical workshop-style course. They also learn about best practice, how to listen more effectively and ways to write salient points quickly and clearly.
It covers the A to Z of minute taking, from using a template to identifying common errors of grammar, punctuation and use of English. During the day, participants experience every stage of the minute-taking process, using guided role-play.
Course content
Proposed Course Content
Part One
Part Two — Writing style
- Identifying a good style
- Getting the message across, using clear English
- Being more concise and reader-friendly
- Six tips: Writing up notes
- Useful vocabulary
- Avoiding common errors of grammar, punctuation and use of English
- Summarising & Practice
– Meetings and minutes
- What are minutes for?
- How do you define “good” minutes?
- What are the key skills for minute-taking?
- A to Z of taking minutes
- Tailoring content to your readers’ needs
- Test yourself: Are you really listening?
- Creating an effective agenda & Meeting checklist
- How to take useful notes
- Practice: using guided role-play
Effective Minute Taking – course outline continued
Editing strategies — how to re-read more effectively
- Editing in three easy steps
- Using a proofreading checklist
- Practice
Part Three — Editing
Skills learned
On completion of this one-day course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the role and responsibilities of the minute-taker
- Prepare an outline and use a template
- Create an efficient structure and layout
- Summarise information (and understand what to leave out)
- Listen more effectively
- Use simple techniques to transform your writing style
- Recognise errors and potential problem areas
- Incorporate useful phrases
- Edit and proofread your minutes
