What is the course about?

Most people have to take notes or minutes of meetings occasionally as part of their work. Accurate and timely meeting summaries are extremely important for documenting meetings with colleagues, the public or other organisations.

Without a solid foundation in listening, writing and editing skills, Note takers may lack confidence in their ability to produce accurate and readable minutes. This course discusses good listening techniques, includes organisational hints and tips for Note takers, and covers grammar, punctuation and proof-reading to make sure the final document is completely professional. Delegates also share ideas about what works for them.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Objectives

By the end of the course, delegates will know how to:

• Create an effective agenda that will help your meeting run smoothly
• Listen actively for relevant content and know how to maintain concentration
• Use a variety of techniques to ensure you have the best support when note taking
• Avoid common grammatical and punctuation mistakes
• Write in a clear, concise style and be aware of accepted minuting conventions
• Use impartial and accurate descriptions that convey your content effectively and professionally
• Give your meeting notes that final polish before you send them

Course content

• What should good minutes achieve?
  • What benefits do minutes bring to your organisation?
  • What sort of minutes do you need to write?
  • What does it all mean? – a glossary of meeting-related terms
• Are you listening?
  • Six ways to listen powerfully
  • Six things that can break your concentration, and how to avoid them
• Organisational hints, tips and tools
  • Invent your own shorthand – shortcuts when note taking in longhand and a table of useful abbreviations
  • Note taker’s survival kit – the essentials to have at hand
  • Importance of pre-meeting preparation
  • Managing the meeting and the Chair – constructive ways to work together
  • Meeting timelines – what should happen when? A stress-saving checklist
• How’s your handwriting?
  • What causes handwriting to be tiring or illegible?
  • Yes, you can blame your tools! What’s the best writing implement for you?
  • Exercises to keep your hands limber
  • Exercises to help you write more legibly
• What makes a good agenda?
  • What is a meeting agenda?
  • Setting and distributing your agenda
  • What to include to help run the meeting effectively
• The right minutes for your meeting – layout and style
  • What you should and shouldn’t include – recognising facts from chatter
  • More formal meetings like AGMs – votes, proposers, seconders, elections, resolutions
  • Sample minutes for formal meetings
  • Minuting informal meetings
  • Sample minutes for an informal meeting
  • Recording decisions and actions
  • Creating an action summary
• Techniques for writing good notes or minutes
  • How to word minutes – active or passive, bullets or full sentences?
  • Avoid wording that indicates bias
  • Plain Words’ rules for good writing
  • Making Word® work for you
• Polishing your prose
  • The paragraphs, the sentences, the words
  • The grammar and punctuation
  • Proofing – how to see what’s really there
  • Commonly confused words
  • Things that make some people cross

Duration

1 full day session