As the minutes taker, you do not need to familiarize yourself with the full Rules of Order. However, acquiring a copy (or borrowing the chairman’s) can be useful for answering specific questions. Know your role as well. Some minute secretaries do not participate in the meeting, while others take minutes while contributing to the discussion. In either case the secretary should not be someone who has another major role, such as chairman or facilitator. [2] X Research source
Name of organization. Type of meeting. Is this a regular weekly or annual meeting, a smaller committee meeting, or a meeting convened for a special purpose? Date, time, and place. Leave space for the start and end times (convening and adjourning). Name of chairman or meeting leader & name of secretary (or their substitutes). List of “attendees” and “apologies of absentees”. This is a fancy term for attendance sheet. Note whether a quorum is present (the number of people sufficient to carry out votes). Space for your signature. As the minute taker, you will always sign your work. An additional signature may be required when the minutes are approved, according to your organization’s policies. An agenda, if provided one. If the chairman or meeting facilitator has not asked you to draft the agenda, they should have one available upon request. Having one to refer will help you organize your meeting notes.
If you took minutes at an earlier meeting and they have not been submitted for approval, make sure to bring those with you as well. While an audio recorder can help you transcribe the minutes later, it is not a substitute for note taking. If you do record the meeting, make sure everyone present consents and do not give in to the temptation to create a word-for-word transcript. Learning a shorthand will speed up note taking, but you do not need to be able to take down every word in order to take minutes. In fact, you should avoid doing so. If you are asked to take notes publicly during the meeting, use an overhead projector or presentation easel. Make sure you are able to take the notes home afterward without smudging them so you are able to use them to type up minutes. [3] X Research source
If you are unfamiliar with many of the people present, sketch a seating chart instead and fill it out as you ask everyone to introduce themselves. Keep it handy as you take meeting notes so you can refer to people by name when appropriate (as discussed below). [4] X Research source
If you don’t have a template, record this information at the top of your meeting notes. If the meeting was called for a special purpose or at a special time, save the notice sent out to notify members. You should attach it to the minutes after they’re transcribed.
The exact wording of the motion beginning “I move”. This will usually be “I move for the adoption of this agenda. " The name of the mover (person who proposed the motion). The result of the vote. If the vote succeeds, write “motion carried. " If it fails, write “motion failed. " You may ask lengthy motions to be submitted in writing if you cannot record them accurately. If this is a recurring problem, ask between meetings if this can be made official policy for motions above a certain number of words. If you drafted the agenda, you may be the mover of this motion as well as the minutes secretary. That’s fine; as long as you remain objective there is no problem recording your own actions.
Remember, each motion should include the exact wording of the motion, the name of the mover, and the result of the vote. Some motions require a seconder before moving to a vote. If someone says “I second the motion” or similar, record that person’s name as the seconder. If you don’t know the name of the mover or need the motion repeated, interrupt the meeting politely to ask. Recording information accurately is important enough to justify a small interruption. If a motion is amended, simply alter the wording of the motion in your notes. Unless the amendment is controversial and provokes a lot of discussion, there is no need to record that an amendment occurred. [5] X Research source
It’s most practical to obtain a copy at the end of the meeting. Make a note to ask the reader or meeting leader (chairman or president) for a copy afterwards. You’ll attach a copy of each report to the minutes once transcribed. If copies are not available, instead note where the original document is kept. You may need to ask for this information after the meeting. If a member makes an oral report (instead of reading from a document), write a brief, objective summary of the report. Do not go into specific detail or quote the speaker verbatim.
Depending on how formal your meeting is, many of these actions may fall under the umbrella of “motions”. For less formal meetings, you may need to keep your ears peeled for less clearly organized decisions as well. Include a brief mention of the rationale behind a decision if one is given.
Be sure to include any references to Robert’s Rules of Order, the organization bylaws, or company protocol.
When recording discussion, be as objective as possible. Include concrete points, not opinions, and minimize the use of adjectives and adverbs. Dry, factual, boring writing is your goal![6] X Research source Do not refer to people by name during the discussion summary. This is especially important during heated arguments that might cause offense.
Skim your notes to see if there’s anything missing or that needs clarification. If you need to ask someone a question, do so now before they leave.
Use correct spelling and grammar. Use a spellchecker if you need to. Use the same tense throughout. Use the past or present tense, but never switch between them in the same document. Are objective as possible. Your own opinion should never be deducible from the minutes. You are trying to create an objective record for everyone to use. Use simple, exact language. Any vague language should be replaced with precise wording. Flowery descriptions should be removed entirely. Include only actions taken, not discussions. Unless you’ve been asked to record discussions, you should focus on what was done, not what was said. Number the pages for ease of reference.
If the minutes are corrected before they are accepted, make the changes in the document and indicate at the end that the minutes were corrected. Don’t describe specific corrections. If a motion is made to correct the minutes after they have been accepted, include the exact wording of that motion in the relevant minutes and whether or not the motion passed.
If you need a specific kind of template–general or standard, for example–browse through the sites for your specific needs and download it by clicking the “download” or “use template” buttons. Make sure you save it in an easy to find place so it doesn’t get lost.
