How to Take Meeting Minutes

Have you just been assigned the task of secretary for a meeting in the office? Congratulations! So do you know how to take notes, prepare and present meeting minutes? Whether you stick to Robert’s Rules of Work ^{[1] X Sources of Research} or just take notes in an informal way, the following methods are sure to work for you:

Table of Contents

Prepare in advance

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Learn the meeting policy in your organization. If assigned to prepare formal meeting minutes, ask if the agency is following the “Robert Rules of Work” or another guideline. If the minutes are not formally required, ask what the minutes should include or be used for.

As a scribe, you don’t need to be familiar with all the Working Rules. However, ask for a copy (or borrow it from the chairperson) to help you answer specific questions.
Learn about your role. Some secretaries record minutes and do not attend the meeting directly, while others take notes while participating in discussions. In either case, however, the secretary should not be the chairperson or have a key role in the meeting such as the chairperson or the meeting organizer. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Prepare the minutes template. Usually each meeting minutes contains quite similar information. A uniform format of minutes will make taking notes easy. ^{[3] X Source of Research} Please fill in the blanks below. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Agency name.
Type of meeting. Is this a recurring weekly or annual meeting, a meeting of a small group, or a meeting convened for a special purpose?
Date, time and location. Leave a space to fill in the start and end times.
Name of the chair or leader of the meeting and the name of the secretary (or person acting on his behalf)
List of “present” and “absent” components. This is the required content in the participant list. Make a note of whether the meeting has the required number of delegates (minimum number of attendees for voting).
Space for you to sign. As a minutes secretary, you must always sign the minutes you make. In addition, depending on the regulations of each agency, you may have to sign when the minutes are approved.
Work schedule for the meeting, if applicable. If the chairperson or meeting moderator has not asked you to prepare a schedule, you should ask to have one yourself. Referring to the agenda in advance will help you take notes of the meeting content more easily.

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Bring a notebook or laptop. Bring the items you are most familiar with. If you often have to take minutes of meetings, set aside a notebook for this purpose, or create a separate folder on your computer.

If you took minutes at the last meeting and they didn’t get approval, be sure to bring them with you.
A voice recorder can help you record minutes, but cannot replace meeting minutes. If you do record the meeting, be sure to get the consent of everyone present and avoid merely transcribing the recording.
Learn shorthand techniques to speed up your notes, but you also don’t need and shouldn’t jot down every word in the transcript.
If required to take public notes during the meeting, use a throw projector or an A- easel. Make sure you can then bring those notes home without blurring so you can take them home. rewrite the record. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Record Meeting Minutes

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Distribute a list of attendees. As soon as everyone is present, distribute one sheet (or more for large meetings), leaving room for everyone to enter their names and contact information. You can also do this before the meeting ends to get full information for the “attendants” section of your minutes template, or attach a signed copy of everyone after completing the recording. report.

If you don’t know many of the attendees, draw a seating chart and fill it out while everyone introduces themselves. Keep that sheet of paper by your side while you take notes so that their names can be referenced when necessary (as discussed below). ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Fill out as much information as possible in your pre-made minutes template. While you wait for the meeting to begin, write down the name of the organization, the date and place of the meeting, and the type of meeting (e.g. weekly board meeting, a special board meeting, etc.). When the meeting starts, record the start time.

If you don’t have a meeting minutes template, include this information at the top of your meeting minutes.
If the meeting is called for a special purpose or takes place at a special time, save the notice sent to the members. You should attach that notice with the complete meeting minutes.

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Record the result of the first content. Most formal meetings start with the agenda, so this step will use this move as an example. If the meeting starts with a different move, just make sure you jot down all the same relevant information: ^{[7] X Research Source}

The correct term for the opening is “I’m moving on”, usually “I’m moving on to the agenda for this meeting”
The name of the person who transferred the content (the person who proposed to change the content).
Voting results. If the voting is successful, write “voting successfully conducted”, otherwise, write “voting failed”.
If you are unable to accurately record lengthy discussions, ask for written records of them. If this is a common problem, you can interrupt the meeting if you have a policy to limit the length of the meeting content. ^{[8] X Research Sources}
If you’re the agenda maker, you can act as both a content relayer and a secretary. There is absolutely no problem with interrupting a meeting in the middle for the purpose of taking accurate notes.

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Record other content during the meeting. Listen attentively to all discussions, but do not take notes unless otherwise directed.) When the meeting turns to a new topic, jot down all relevant information.

Note that for each discussion, you need to accurately describe the topic, the name of the sender, and the voting results.
Some content requires additional upvotes before voting. If someone says “I endorse the content …” or something like that, record their name as the endorser.
If you don’t know the name of the sender or need the content repeated, politely interrupt the meeting to ask. Accurate recording of information is very important, so slight interruptions are perfectly acceptable.
If something is adjusted, you only need to edit the note about that content in the meeting minutes. You do not need to note an adjustment unless it is controversial. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Listen and get copies of reports. For any reports, newsletters, or similar content read during the meeting, record the names of the documents and the people who read them (or the name of the writing department). If the discussion is accompanying it, take notes as you would any other discussion.

Ideally, you should have a copy of these reports at the end of the meeting. Make a note to ask the reader of the report or the chair of the meeting (chairman or chairperson) to provide you with a copy later. You will attach these documents to the meeting minutes when you distribute them to everyone.
If copies are not available, you can record where the original documents are kept. If you are unsure, you will need to ask for this information after the meeting.
If a member reports orally (rather than reading from a document), summarize the main idea and topic of the report. Don’t go into specifics or quote verbatim. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Record actions taken or tasks assigned. This includes checking back on assignments from the previous meeting as well as new ones. Has someone been assigned to write a letter? Write down their names and instructions.

Depending on how formal the meeting is, many of these actions may be overlooked in the name of “new stuff.” With informal meetings, you’ll need to listen attentively to unclear decisions.
Take a brief note of the rationale for a decision, if mentioned in the meeting.

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Record all directives and decisions. Whenever a process is contested, document the entire objection and the basis of the objection, as well as all judgments rendered by the Chairman.

Be sure to record any references to “Robert’s Rules of Work”, agency by-laws or company regulations.

Completing the Minutes

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Start this as soon as possible. It’s best to jot down the official minutes right after the meeting, when the event is “fresh” in your mind. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Typing meeting minutes. You could have done this if you used a laptop at the meeting. Save your notes and open a new document to record the minutes, this way you can compare notes and minutes.

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Edit note text in coherent paragraphs. Each topic, decision or procedure must be presented in separate paragraphs. When editing formatting, check that the text has: ^{[14] X Research Source}

Correct spelling and grammar. If necessary, use the spell checker.
Use a consistent “tens” throughout the text. Or use only one of the past or present “tenses”, limiting the conversion between “tenses” in the same text.
Be as objective as possible. Your personal opinion should never be included in the minutes. You must strive to create an objective record for everyone to use.
Use simple, precise words. Any words with ambiguous meanings need to be replaced with exact words. The “ornate” descriptions need to be removed altogether.
Only actions taken, not discussions, should be recorded. Unless you are asked to take notes of discussions, you should focus only on what is done , not what is said .
Page numbering for easy reference.

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Give each meeting member a draft of your meeting minutes. Use the information in the attendance sheet to send each attendee a copy of the meeting minutes. If you don’t have their contact information, get help from the meeting chair.

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Please approve the meeting minutes. You may be asked to read the minutes of the meeting aloud at the next meeting so that the text can be adopted. If the minutes are approved, mark that the minutes are approved. ^{[15] X Research Source}

If the minutes were edited prior to approval, make the corrections in writing and indicate at the bottom of the minutes that the minutes have been edited. No need to say specifically the adjustments.
If corrections must be made to a subject after the minutes are approved, you should include words that accurately describe the action in the relevant minutes and state whether the subject is approved.

Use the Meeting Minute Template

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Refer to websites that provide sample meeting minutes. Pre-set templates will save you time in preparing for taking notes as well as limit possible errors.

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Spend some time browsing each website. Use the search feature and browse through the options to find the memo template that works best for you.

If you need a specific type of minutes template – a generic or standard template, follow your specific criteria to search the site and download it by clicking the “download” or “use” button. sample use”. Remember to save it in an easy-to-find place so you don’t lose it.

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Open file. After downloading the minutes template, extract it and open it in word or excel format. To get the best quality text and convenient to use, you should use the latest version of MS Word. Continuous updates make things simpler and allow you to use new features optimally.

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Insert your company logo and copyright marks in the header. Remove the sample logo – be sure to read the terms of use of any website you use to download the minutes template. You can completely avoid unnecessary legal trouble.

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Change title. In the title section, highlight the words “Meeting/Group” and type the actual title in your meeting minutes.

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Change the background (optional). To make your template report look better and more professional, consider changing the colors, or choose a pre-made color. It’s quite simple: look for the “Page Layout” bar, then find the “Cpors and Themes” section. There you can customize the effects for your minutes template. You can even customize the background color to match your company logo color.

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Name the sample minutes. There should be some pattern field names. The templates you download are usually pre-named. Maybe you need to add or remove them, or you simply don’t like the way they are named. You can customize it to suit the requirements of your meetings.

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Save these minutes templates to your notebook to start taking minutes. If you still use Microsoft Office software, everything will be quite quick and easy, and you will be able to take minutes of meetings more scientifically and accurately. Alternatively, you can pre-print the minutes to take notes by hand, but make sure you leave enough space to fill in all the necessary information.

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Review sample minutes. Congratulations! Your meeting minutes template is now complete. The productivity and accuracy of your meeting minutes will increase exponentially because you now have a minutes template to guide and organize your ideas. For any job, go through the details in the report template to see if anything is missing or unclear. Once you’re sure all the details are in place, your meeting minutes template will be ready to use and ready for upcoming meetings.

Advice

Finalize meeting minutes immediately after the meeting ends. It’s best to do this while the facts are still “fresh” in your mind. Participants should also get a copy of the to-dos outlined in the meeting as soon as possible.
Sit as close to the chairperson as possible. That way you can easily hear everything and ask for clarification without having to speak up.
Ask people to write down their topics so you don’t have to jot them down on the spot.
Keep meeting minutes in a safe place.
Don’t be afraid to interrupt and ask for clarification at any time.
Meeting minutes are very important. Minutes are kept and can be consulted for many years. For example, if it is a legal matter, a person’s reputation may depend on that record.
Read some of the entries in Robert’s Rules of Order , especially the section on how a secretary works.
Take notes objectively and honestly. If a topic is brought up twice, don’t lump it together.

Warning

Don’t put too much detail in the minutes. Even if you are asked to record discussions, try to only record summaries and main ideas. Limit yourself to paraphrasing around the main idea, or you’ll be overloaded with unnecessary details.
Never mix your own interpretations and feelings into the minutes.
If part of the meeting falls under attorney-client privilege, do not document that part. Instead record that “attorney informed that the content belonged to attorney-client rights. The content was not recorded”. ^{[16] X Research Source}
If you are required to record a confidential communication, for example, between an attorney and a client, make the minutes separate and keep it separate from the general meeting minutes. Mark as “confidential documents” and specify who has “access” to those documents. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Steps