COURSE OVERVIEW:

Meeting minutes are notes that are recorded during a meeting. They highlight the key issues that are discussed, motions proposed or voted on, and activities to be undertaken. The minutes of a meeting are usually taken by a designated member of the group. Their task is to provide an accurate record of what transpired during the meeting.

Minutes are vital to the success of any meeting. Participants rely on them for information on subjects they did not understand or to fill in gaps when they lost concentration. The action points act as a reminder to those who agreed in the heat of the moment but have since been overtaken by other priorities and would otherwise forget what they were to do. Those who could not attend, need an idea of what was decided in their absence. And finally, minutes are the historical record of the meeting and ‘proof’ of the actions/outcomes.

Every day, key meetings take place in your office. The decisions made as a result of those meetings can involve millions of dollars and can even change people’s futures. With everything that’s at stake in today’s challenging times, it’s no wonder that employers prize accurate minute-taking skills now more than ever.

The key skill for taking minutes is the ability to listen to the words someone is saying, absorb them, evaluate the manner of the delivery and identify the speaker’s point of view – the message. It is ongoing listening and simultaneous summarising.

The minute-taker is one of the most important and powerful people in a meeting. Although the task can be daunting, it is the opportunity to develop your knowledge, broaden your horizons and build your credibility within the organisation. With a clear idea of your role and responsibilities, knowledge of what you are meant to do and some confidence in yourself, your role of minute-taker can be enjoyable!

This course will help you produce professional minutes. It will help you understand the important role of a minute-taker as well as efficiently recording all the important information discussed. You will learn key minute-taking skills including how to create drafts and reports and much more.

The first part of this course begins by discussing what minutes are and why minutes are important. Then explains the role and key skills of the minute taker and the techniques used for preparing minutes. Also, explains what should be included and excluded in your minutes and how to take and structure notes. Finally, explains how to write up the minutes.

The second part starts by discussing the styles, layout and numbering of minutes and how to record decisions and actions. Also, discusses the pre-meeting preparation tasks, during the meeting tasks (including minute takers conduct) and after the meeting tasks. Finally, looks at an example of minutes of a board of company meeting.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• What are minutes?
• Why are minutes important?
• Why accurate, easy-to-read minutes can help?
• How to take useful minutes?
• Why keep minutes?
• The role of the minute taker
• The key skills of a minute taker
• The techniques for preparing minutes
• What form should minutes take?
• What should be included and excluded in your minutes?
• The mechanics of writing
• Why use bullet points, not sentences?
• Audio recording a meeting
• How to structure your notes?
• How to follow the agenda if the meeting used a ‘basic’ agenda or a full objectives agenda?
• What to do if the subject is not on the agenda?
• How to write up the minutes?
• How to speed up the process of taking minutes?
• The different sections of the minutes
• What to do if there are errors in the minutes?
• What to do if the whole meeting is matters arising?
• The styles of minutes
• If you should include historical or background information in your minutes
• If there should be minutes of ‘in camera’ meetings
• How to avoid inappropriate tone and words in your minutes?
• How to record decisions and actions?
• The action triangle
• The layout and numbering of minutes
• How to use an action column?
• The typing rules
• The pre-meeting preparation tasks
• The during the meeting tasks
• The key information to capture
• The conduct of the minute taker during the meeting
• The after the meeting tasks
• How to put on the finishing touches?
• The privacy and security of minutes
• How to write a report?
• The parts of a report
• The features of an effective report
• What to consider when writing reports?
• An example of board meeting minutes

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.