5 tips on how to master minute taking in meetings
Any position that involves administrative work will require you to take meeting minutes from time to time.
It may seem like an easy task to do, but much like admin work itself, some people either possess strong planning and time management skills or they don’t.
Whether you’re a personal assistant, receptionist or simply a team member filling in for a senior, you should learn how to take meeting minutes.
Meeting minutes are a brief summary of a meeting’s contents. The document created is not designed for you to use as your own personal document, but rather for everyone else to use as a reference on a particular project or topic. So, make sure that your notes are clear and concise, and that it includes every bit of detail to help give outsiders a better understanding of what went on in their absence.
As you can imagine, mastering minute taking skills takes time and plenty of practice. But for now, here are a few tips that will help you improve your approach to minute-taking in the office:
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Find your writing strength
If you’ve ever sat through a lengthy meeting with management, you will know that people speak fast and they jump from topic to topic before your mind can even comprehend what is going on. Knowing this, you will need to find your strength: hand-writing or typing. Most individuals prefer to type out their meeting notes so they can format them at the same time, making it faster for them to send off once the meeting is complete. However, if you feel that you are faster at taking notes by writing everything out by hand, do what makes you feel confident and efficient. After all, you cannot miss out on anything being said by worrying about how your notes look. Keep up with the meeting speed and you’ll succeed.
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Know more or less what the meeting’s topic is about before you enter
Before you go into a meeting where you’re going to be capturing notes, try and wrap your head around the meeting’s topic by preparing beforehand. Naturally, if you’re writing notes on a meeting topic that has nothing to do with your line of work, you might not always know what is important or not. In these instances, try and speak to someone to see where the project is in the pipeline and what the current focus is. If you are unable to do this before the meeting, make sure you take notes of every little detail covered.
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Context is important when writing
The point of meeting notes is not to use them as a verbal presentation to explain the notes out loud. Your notes are sent out via email, and hopefully, your notes are clear enough for anyone to understand and respond to. Context is critical when it comes to taking meeting notes, and so are strong listening skills. You cannot simply make a summary without including opinions, agreements and disagreements. Those involved in the project will need to know how decisions were made in order for them to understand their next movements.
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Try and involve yourself in the meeting
Taking responsibility for meeting notes requires you to be in the know and alert. If you need to ask questions about a particular point or ask people to repeat what they said, do so. You cannot compromise on quality simply because you’re shy or afraid. You are the one who is going to be responsible for the outcome, so if anything is misheard or does not make sense, be sure to voice your option.
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Send the meeting minutes as soon as possible
Once you finish the meeting, make it your priority to send off the meeting minutes as soon as possible. The reason for this is that everything that was discussed will be fresh in your mind, allowing you to explain each point in greater detail if necessary. If you leave it, the chances are that you are going to forget important points, and attendees are also likely to forget the urgent action points. So, attend the meeting, write up your notes and send them to the relevant person for approval before distributing the notes.
Final words
Taking notes in meetings is much more pressured and stressful than you could have ever imagined. You’re the one in charge, so best you try and make a good impression. The more you do it, the more practice you will get. But, if you still seem to struggle, consider signing up for minute taking training. There are many tertiary education institutes that offer minute taking courses which could help you. Often times, it’s just a case of understanding how to summarise work. This is a great skill to have, no matter what industry you’re in. So, explore minute taking training to help you improve if need be.