If you are responsible for taking minutes at meetings, then the tools and techniques covered in this course will prove invaluable.

• Personal preparation - What's on your checklist to do prior to the meeting?
• Create the right environment - Consider what is important to attend to within the actual room
• Attending the meeting - What's your role during the meeting?
• Taking notes - The mechanics of actually taking minutes
• Structuring notes - Develop the skill of taking structured notes
• Writing up the minutes - How to speed up writing the notes, get approval and amend, styles of minutes
• Sections of a meeting - What are the various sections of the meeting?
• Recording decisions and actions - Tips for getting it right
• Business English for minutes - Grammar, spelling and vocabulary tips

Introduction

• Background
• Cycle of a meeting
• The participants

Personal Preparation

• Read the agenda and papers
• Talk to the chairperson and others
• Consider who's who
• Confirm administrative arrangements
• Get the equipment together
• Signed copy of the minutes
• Last minute minute taker
• Personal preparation checklist

Create the Right Environment

• Create a professional impression
• Freshen the room
• Layout and refreshments
• Be there to greet
• Mobile phones and pagers

Attending the Meeting

• Where to sit
• Finding out who's who
• Not understanding
• Hearing
• Minuting and argument
• Skivvying
• Coping with numbers/figures
• Maintaining concentration and focus
• Contributing minute taker

Taking Notes

• The mechanics of writing
• Taking notes
• Look as well as listen
• The message not the words
• Developing the skills

Structuring Notes

• Follow the agenda
• Structuring the notes
• Using the structure

Writing up the Minutes

• Speeding up the process
• If you can't type them for a few days
• Get the chairperson's approval
• Dealing with amendments

Style of Minutes

• Summary
• Verbatim
• Action

Sections of a Meeting

• Introduction/welcome, apologies
• Committee business 
• Minutes of the last meeting
• Matters arising, reports
• Agenda items, any other business
• Date of the next meeting

Recording Decisions and Actions

• The action triangle
• Where there is no outcome
• Layout of action points
• Where there are several action points

Layout

• Page layout and headings
• Layout for 'present' etc
• Numbering

Business English for Minutes

• Vocabulary and spelling
• Abbreviations
• Punctuation
• Hyphens
• Exclamation marks

The course runs from 9:30am through to 4:30pm.

You will learn in a relaxed environment with a small group of people. A specialist tutor will guide and encourage you through all the learning necessary to develop your skills and questions are always welcome.

Included with your course
We provide the following with online and training centre delivered courses.

• Course notes
• Certificate of attendance

Online Delivery
A link to the online training platform will be sent before the course, simply click the link and follow the instructions.

• See Virtual / Remote training information for more details
• Contact us if you'd like to test the platform before the morning of the course
• You can be located anywhere in the world with an internet connection and your computer

Our Training Centres
For training courses run at one of our training centres we include.

• Free onsite parking
• Lunch and refreshments
• Notepad, pen and Polos

Our Norwich on-site parking (NR3 1UB) is free and situated 5 minutes walk along the river to our training centre at St James Mill. If you arrive by train it is about 20 minutes on the Riverside walk or a short taxi ride to get to us. View full directions for Norwich and all our other venues.

• PA/Executive Assistant
• Conducting Effective Meetings
• Business Writing Skills