Minutes of Meeting

Minutes of Meeting
• In business writing, minutes are the official written record of a
meeting. Minutes are generally written in the simple past tense.
They serve as a permanent record of the topics considered,
conclusions reached, actions taken, and assignments
given. They're also a record of which individuals made
contributions to the meeting in terms of new ideas and how
those ideas were received. If there is a vote taken at a meeting,
the minutes serve as a record of who voted for and who voted
against a proposal, which can be taken into consideration in
future when the consequences of either implementing or
rejecting that proposal come to fruition.
 Who Takes the Minutes?

• Some minutes are kept by a recording secretary, an

employee specifically tasked with taking minutes,
keeping all records and files, tracking attendance
and voting records, and reporting to the appropriate
designated parties (for instance a board of directors
or the upper management of a business). However,
minutes may be kept by any individual in attendance
at a meeting and are generally distributed to all
members of the unit represented at the meeting.
 The Main Parts of Meeting
Minutes
Many organizations use a standard template or a special format for keeping minutes,
and the order of the parts may vary.
• Heading—The name of the committee (or business unit) and the date, location,
and starting time of the meeting.
• Participants—The name of the person conducting the meeting along with the
names of all those who attended the meeting (including guests) and those who
were excused from attending.
• Approval of previous minutes–A note on whether the minutes of the previous
meeting were approved and whether any corrections were made.
• Action items–A report on each topic discussed at the meeting. This can include
unfinished business from the previous meeting. (For each item, note the subject of
the discussion, the name of the person who led the discussion, and any decisions
that may have been reached.)
 Contd.

• Announcements–A report on any announcements

made by participants, including proposed agenda items
for the next meeting.
• Next Meeting—A note on where and when the next
meeting will be held.
• Adjournment—A note on the time the meeting ended.
• Signature line—The name of the person who prepared
the minutes and the date they were submitted.
Guidelines for Writing Meeting Minutes

• The person writing the minutes should have the capability of doing so in real-
time as the meeting progresses so that the finished product is in near-final form
by meeting's end.
• Minutes should concentrate on results and goal-oriented actions.
• Good minutes are brief and to the point. They are not verbatim accounts, but
rather concise, coherent summaries. Summaries should include points of
agreement and disagreement but don't require every last detail.
• Minutes can be used as source material for a report or memo, however, they
should be written for the purpose of recapitulating events for those who
attended a meeting, rather than for those who did not.
• Minutes should be completed and distributed promptly after a meeting (rule of
thumb is within a day or two).
 Sample
• Informal team meeting minutes template
• Date: Today's date
• Attendees
• List of attendees
• Agenda
• Item 1 including key discussions, decisions made, next steps
• Item 2
• Item 3
• Next steps
• List goes here in format: action item, responsible person, date
• Example: Brian to follow up to this group with a list of target companies by end of week