Taking Minutes

Taking Minutes in Meetings Course

Taking minutes in Meetings is an art. It should be taken seriously and with the right mindset. A few tips on how to make this work for you. By breaking your meeting down into discrete, manageable chunks, you will be able to spend more time focusing on each item, thus increasing your chance of completing the task.

Each individual within a meeting must commit to taking minutes. If you don't, it won't work for you. If you are not one hundred percent sure you want to record yourself, set a limit to the amount of minutes you are committed to spending. Don't take more than 10% of your scheduled meeting time to record your minutes. This rule is not hard-and-fast, but it does have to be followed. If you don't adhere to it, then you won't be recording meeting minutes per se, but you may be leaving some important information out, or worse-discover that you didn't really learn anything from the meeting.

Another key to successfully taking minutes in meetings is being prepared. This doesn't mean that you need to be a lawyer or a professor, but it does mean that you need to know what you are going to say, why you are saying it, and how you are saying it. If you aren't prepared, you won't be able to effectively deliver your minutes per conversation. To prepare, evaluate what needs to be said within the meeting and research the best way to convey those thoughts.

You can also improve your minutes per conversation by knowing what the meeting objective is and how you arrived at that objective. A good meeting goal should be specific, measurable, and attainable. You should also think about the audience involved and what they want to get out of the meeting. This is where research is critical. You may need to consult with others before you find the answer, but once you do, it will give you a great starting place to begin your preparation.

Another key to helping yourself remember more meeting minutes per minute is to make sure you have your minutes ready even before you begin speaking. This will allow you to review them later if you need to. Make a mental note of things like who spoke first, how long everyone talked, and any other specifics that may have been included in the minutes. Also, make a note of any questions or comments that were raised during the meeting. These will be valuable resources later on.

The importance of being prepared for your meeting is well known throughout the business world. But just as important is making sure that you are as prepared as possible. Even if you know what is expected of you, leaving it to chance is never a smart idea. Sitting down and writing down everything you need to know can help you be more successful means getting better results faster.

Taking minutes per conversation isn't a magic bullet. When you make a mistake, correcting it and taking more time will usually be enough to remedy the situation. But simply making sure that you are prepared goes a long way. Even small things can make the difference in how good a meeting goes badly. The more prepared you are, the better off you'll be.

A great way to keep yourself prepared is to use bullet points. You should have at least three bullet points to refer to during the course of the meeting. Refer to these three bullet points in order: objectives and goals, current issues, future issues, and other needs or wants. Once you've listed these things, don't forget to put a line through each item on your list. For example, if you had an immediate need to communicate something, write that down. Then, when you get to the end of the meeting, read through these bullet points again and make sure you understand what is being communicated.