How to Write Meeting Minutes

If you're assigned to do the minutes of the meeting, you may be curious - if not confused - when it comes to the best way to go about it. It may not be rocket science, but still, making a detailed outline of all the events that occurred in an activity may be such a chore for some. Learning how to write meeting minutes, fortunately, should not be so difficult if you follow the tips below:

1. First, ensure that all the preliminary information is available and verify if all important arrangements have been made. What is the meeting all about? A serious corporate meeting may need a very detailed minutes of the meeting while a less important one will need only a simple summary. Who are attending the meeting? Make sure that you know the names of the participants. What, where and how is it going to be held? Take time to verify that all the important details regarding location, time and communication method are organized properly.

2. Second, prepare a comprehensive sheet that lists the meeting elements. You can do this by getting a hold of previous minutes of the meeting documents and start from the information available there, which can guide you in ticking off the important boxes of your sheet. This is a good way of learning how to write meeting minutes.

   Label the document with the name of your organization, the kind of meeting, the theme and agenda of the event, the date and time, and the expected end time of the session. By having this ready, it will be easy for you to indicate if the meeting group was able to abide by the details agreed on - such as if the right topics are discussed or if the meeting begins and ends on time.

3. Third, create another document that lists down the agenda and the probable issues and sub-themes. Ensure that you allocate sufficient space under every idea and this will serve as the area on which you can write the issues brought out in the meeting. By doing this, you will not need to take down everything chronologically, but you can lump ideas together immediately.

4. Fourth, look for media devices that help on how to write meeting minutes properly. Do you think using a recorder helps? Or typing on a laptop? Or do you prefer writing in shorthand? Deciding what to use - or even combining one or two - can efficiently aid you.

5. Fifth, once the meeting starts, use your critical thinking skills to delineate the important issues and take them down. Put relevant or connected ideas together in a way you understand best, and remember that the first draft does not need to be perfect. Remember, you can still edit your document after making your initial summary.

6. Last, have the chair or the leader of the meeting go through the minutes of the meeting and approve it before you send out to all the attendees. A fresh pair of eyes can proofread your work, too.

See? Learning how to write meeting minutes is clearly not rocket science! Good luck.

Resources

• Meeting minutes example.
• Meeting minutes form.
• Tips on how to write meeting minutes.
• Templates of meeting minutes from Microsoft.