How To Write Effective
Meeting Minutes
San Shway Wynn
2nd February 2013
DEFINED
• Minutes are the official record of an
organization.
• It is crucial that they are accurate
since they are the legal record of the
proceedings and actions of the
organization.
How To Write Effective Meeting
Minutes
• Why meeting minutes are important
• What's involved with meeting minutes?
Why meeting minutes are
important
• Decisions made (motions made, votes, etc.)
• Next steps planned
• Identification and tracking of action items
• When a meeting’s outcomes impact other
collaborative activities or projects within the
organization
• Minutes can serve to notify (or remind)
individuals of tasks assigned to them and/or
timelines
What’s involved with meeting
minutes?
• There are essentially five steps involved with
meeting minutes:
• Pre-Planning
• Record taking - at the meeting
• Minutes writing or transcribing
• Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes
• Filing or storage of minutes for future reference
1. Pre-planning
• A well-planned meeting helps ensure
effective meeting minutes.
• If the Chair and the Secretary or
minutes-taker work together to ensure the
agenda and meeting are well thought out, it
makes minute taking much easier.
• Depending on the meeting structure and
the tools you use, the minutes-taker could
work with the Chair to create a document
format that works as an agenda and
minutes outline as well.
agenda checklist
• Name of the meeting • Each agenda item should be
• Date and Time numbered
• Exact location of the meeting • Each agenda item should have a time
allotted to it
• A list of expected attendees
• Where you have a speaker, their
• Expected meeting duration name should be next to the agenda
• Clearly stated objectives of the item so they know they are running
meeting that item of the agenda.
• An agenda item to approve the • An agenda should be circulated in
minutes of the previous meeting advance (ideally the day before)
• An agenda item to handle matters • As chair (or secretary) you should
arising from the previous bring enough printed copies of the
meeting’s minutes (actions that agenda to the meeting and print-outs
haven’t been completed for of the last meeting’s minutes for
example) everyone.
• An agenda item at the end to • The whole agenda should be simple
handle AOB – Any Other Business and clear for all participants to
understand, without extensive prior
knowledge.
2. Record taking - what should
be included?
• Before you start taking notes, it’s important to
understand the type of information you need to
record at the meeting.
• Your organization may have required content and
a specific format that you’ll need to follow, but
generally, meeting minutes usually include the
following:
-Date, time and place of the meeting
-Name of the presiding officer and secretary
-Names of the meeting participants and those unable to
attend
-Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous
meeting minutes
3. The Minutes Writing Process
• Once the meeting is over, it’s time to pull
together your notes and write the minutes.
- Write the minutes as soon after the meeting as possible while
everything is fresh in your mind.
• Review your outline and if necessary, add
additional notes or clarify points raised.
• Check to ensure all decisions, actions and
motions are clearly noted. Check for
sufficient detail:
- include a short statement of each action taken by the board
and a brief explanation of the rationale for the decision
– when there is extensive deliberation before passing a motion,
summarize the major arguments
– Edit to ensure brevity and clarity, so the minutes are easy
to read.
• Decisions made about each agenda item,
for example:
– Actions taken or agreed to be taken
– Next steps
– Voting outcomes – e.g., (if necessary, details
regarding who made motions; who seconded and
approved or via show of hands, etc.)
– Motions taken or rejected
– Items to be held over
– New business
– Next meeting date and time
• Be objective.
– Write in the same tense throughout
– Avoid using people’s names except for
motions or seconds. This is a business
document, not about who said what.
– Avoid inflammatory or personal observations.
The fewer adjectives or adverbs you use,
the better.
– If you need to refer to other documents,
attach them in an appendix or indicate
where they may be found. Don’t rewrite
their intent or try to summarize them.
What NOT TO INCLUDE
• The opinion or interpretation of the secretary
• Judgmental phrases e.g. “heated debate” “valuable
comment”
• Discussion: Minutes are a record of what was done at
the meeting, not what was said at the meeting
• Motions that were withdrawn
• Name of seconder is unnecessary
4. Distributing or Sharing
Meeting Minutes
• As the official “minutes-taker” or Secretary, your
role may include dissemination of the minutes.
• However, before you share these, be sure that
the Chair has reviewed and either revised and/or
approved the minutes for circulation.
keep a record
You don’t need to note every word.
Just keep a record as follows:
• Names of everyone who was there
(and apologies from those who
weren’t)
• Key decisions made
• Actions agreed
• Next steps
5. Filing/Storage of Meeting
Minutes
• Most committees and Boards review and either
approve or amend the minutes at the beginning
of the subsequent meeting.
• Once you’ve made any required revisions, the
minutes will then need to be stored for future
reference.
• Some organizations may store these online
(e.g., in Google docs or SkyDrive) and also
back these up on an external hard drive.
• You may also need to print and store hard
copies as well or provide these to a staff
member or Chair for filing.
• ATTACHMENTS
• APPROVAL
• SIGNATURE
• MINUTES BOOK
• COPIES
Standard Meeting Minute
Template
• Please note that since the format, style
and content requirements for meeting
minutes varies depending on the
organization and the type of committee or
Board .
• Meeting minutes normally include these
elements as standard;
– • Time, date and venue.
– • Attendees and apologies from
absentees.
• • Key outcomes from the meeting - decisions
made, actions agreed and open issues.
Example of Minutes Format
Name of Organization:
Purpose of Meeting:
Date/Time:
Chair:
Person
Topic Discussion Action
Responsible
1.
2.
3.
Problem Solving
(Circle table)
Training
(Rectangular table)
Decision Making
(U Table)
Thank You.
