The Minute Taker’s Workshop

No matter who you are or what you do, whether at work or in the community, you are involved in meetings. Meetings are costly, even if they are held in a company boardroom. To ensure meetings are productive and worth the expense involved, three ingredients are necessary: an assurance of closure, a strong chair or leader, and accurate minutes. It has been said that if the minutes of a meeting are not accurate, then the meeting may just as well not have taken place.

If people can’t remember or agree on what actually occurred at a meeting, how can the group effectively accomplish its objectives? After this one-day workshop you will understand your role as a minute taker and the best techniques for producing minutes that include all the essential information needed.

How You Will Benefit

• Recognize the importance of minute-taking.
  
• Develop key minute-taking skills, including listening skills, critical thinking, and organization.
  
• Be able to remedy many of the complaints that beset minute-takers.
  
• Be able to write minutes that are suitable for formal meetings, semi-formal meetings, and action minutes.
  
• Be an efficient minute-taker in any type of meeting.
  
• Be able to prepare and maintain a minute book.
  

What You Will Cover

• The role of a minute-taker
  
• The skills of a minute-taker (including listening, critical thinking, and organization)
  
• Meeting agreements
  
• Styles of minutes (including formal, informal, and action)
  
• What to record
  
• Techniques for preparing minutes
  
• Editing minutes
  
• The minute book
  
• Taking minutes in an interactive meeting