Taking Effective Minutes
“The course was very helpful. Now I know I can write effective
meeting agendas and minutes!”
– Susan Montgomery, MS Society Canada
This one-day course provides techniques for planning meeting agendas and taking effective minutes. Through discussions and, where applicable, the use of their own minutes as samples, participants examine various models for presenting minutes clearly and succinctly. The course stresses the process of taking minutes, including pre-meeting and post-meeting tips to make minute-taking more efficient and more effective.
To ensure a truly hands-on application of the course, we recommend that participants bring examples of their minutes to the session.
We frequently run this course in a three-hour format for public sessions. Check the current public schedule for interactive sessions using Zoom.
Who Should Attend
- Administrative or executive assistants
- Committee members responsible for recording the proceedings of meetings
Course Topics
This one-day course addresses the following topics:
- the difference between effective and ineffective minutes
- a process for taking effective minutes: before, during, and after the meeting
- what to do before the meeting
- confirming or writing an effective agenda
- considerations for writing the agenda
- gathering information on previous minutes
- what to do during the meeting
- selecting the best seat in the house!
- reading the previous minutes
- what to record and what to leave out
- sample recording notes
- recording action items
- what to do after the meeting
- translating the meeting notes into minutes
- formats for minutes
- style guidelines