david@davidprice.com.
Best regards
David Julian Price
http://www.davidprice.com
Myths And Mysteries Of Taking Minutes
Minute taking has changed over the years. The requirements
and expectations of the 21st century are very different
from the expectations even 10, but certainly 20 and 30
years ago. Here are some points for you to consider about
minutes and taking minutes.
? Minutes are written for people who were at the meeting,
not for people who were not! They are not designed to be a
story to tell everyone who was not at the meeting, what
went on. It may be smart to publish the key decisions but
that is all.
? Around 60% - 70% of the minute taker's work is done
before the meeting begins. Most but not all of this work is
in the preparation of the agenda. The agenda is essentially
the draft minutes! Most experienced minute takers know this.
? If the minute taker is to do the job properly, then he or
she must be involved in physically preparing the agenda.
The Agenda is your secret weapon!
? Shorthand is not a necessary skill for a good minute
taker. People who take minutes using shorthand sometimes
take very poor minutes. The reason is that they are trained
to take verbatim minutes and taking verbatim minutes rarely
makes good business sense in today's world of work.
Remember, meetings are not a court of law.
? Modern minute takers take the minutes directly onto a
laptop computer, edit as they go, and then email them to
the participants (often from the meeting room) so that the
minutes are "at the participants' desks" often before they
arrive themselves. Research shows that between 50% and 60%
of experienced minute takers now take the minutes directly
onto a computer.
? The last type of paper to take into a meeting for the
minutes is an A4 pad or a shorthand notebook. You need to
taking in pre-prepared blank "forms" which you complete as
the meeting progresses.
? With a very small number of exceptions, recording the
names of who said what and the details of the discussion
which takes place is no longer required in minutes.
Generally, no-one is interested in who said what, they are
interested in the outcome. Often it is the ego centred
people or the manipulative people who want their name
recorded in the minutes ? no-one else cares! There are
obviously some legal situations where the names are
required, but foe the majority of meetings, they are not
required.
? Modern minutes are action oriented, and record issues and
decisions and action only, not discussion.
? Many modern minutes are taken in a table format like a
spreadsheet. Contact the author for examples if you are not
sure how these work.
? Using a tape recorder is counter-productive and creates
far more work rather than saving work as well as some
Freedom Of Information complications. Smart minute takers
never tape their meetings. It creates far more work and
frequently leads to unnecessary conflict when people say "I
didn't say that" and the tape clearly captures them saying
it.
? Modern minute takers spend very little time
"transcribing" their notes ? the minutes are virtually
finished as the meeting finishes because they take them
efficiently as the meeting progresses.
? In every type of meeting, the minute taker has a crucial
role to play and therefore needs to be an active, although
perhaps relatively silent, participant. There will be
times when you must speak. To do this you must sit next to
the person in the chair. (A chairperson who understands
their own role and yours, will not let you sit anywhere
else!)
Taking minutes is a job which few people enjoy but it is
usually because they think that taking the minutes involves
them capturing every word that is said. Once you change
your mindset to one that understands that the purpose of
minutes is to capture the issues, the decisions and the
major reasons, and then the action that is required, taking
minutes becomes a lot easier ? almost enjoyable.
----------------------------------------------------
David Julian Price is known by his clients as "Mr
Meetings". He trains, coaches and consults with
organisations in Australia and throughout the world on
every aspect of meetings, particularly taking minutes,
chairing meetings, managing and organising meetings to get
results, and governance.David is an internationally
qualified Corporate Governance Professional. He can be
contacted at http://www.davidprice.com or email at
david@davidprice.com.
