The Secretary's Guide to Minutes

I can honestly admit that I have a love/hate relationship with writing minutes of meetings; they are the bane of my existence (okay, maybe they are not that bad). You see, I do not fancy making notes of arguments being made back and forth only to come back to where the conversation started, I live in a place where everyone wants to feel important, the men have big egos and woe betide me if I do not acknowledge what Mr. XO said at the meeting (never mind the relevance). Despite all of this, as a Company Secretary I have a duty to capture the essence of every meeting I attend and ensure that I have put down all essential information that has passed at each meeting. Ultimately, my aim is to seamlessly take everyone present at the meeting back in time, reminding them of decisions and points that were made.

I am sure we can admit that as “easy” as writing minutes of a meeting may seem, there is a technique to writing great minutes. So here are some tips:

• The sooner you write your minutes the better, (trust me it only gets worse with procrastination). Always aim to have your first draft at least a day after the meeting because that is when your memory is fresh and you are able to put down the most accurate information.

• Clarify any misunderstandings at the meeting immediately. If you do not want to interrupt, make a note and approach relevant parties for clarification at the end of the meeting.

• Ensure that minutes follow the order, numbering and headings of the agenda. Where presentations/reports are distributed to participants, use them as a guide or a reminder of the sequence/order of the meeting.

• Avoid repeating over flogged issues just because they were discussed at various points during the course of the meeting; rather express such issues succinctly advising that they were highly emphasized at the meeting.

• Whilst you cannot help how much relevant information you need to record, you should always aim to be as succinct as possible. At the end of the day, nobody wants to end up reading bulky pages of minutes.

• Avoid using the same words over and over again; find other ways to convey information without being repetitive.

• Make sure that all decisions and action points are taken down because the minutes might be the only reminder for some of the attendants. It is very important that you include all action points in your minutes.

• Lastly, great minutes are pointless if they are not sent out as soon after the meeting as possible. People tend to forget, so if you don’t circulate your minutes in good time, the purpose of taking down action points could be defeated because it may be too late for necessary parties to take action.

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