HOW TO WRITE MINUTES

Institutional writing

Topic: Functional Writing

Form 3

Objectives

By the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:

1. Develop skills of writing minutes
2. Write minutes

 

Minute Writing

We hold meetings from time to time and for various reasons.

Minutes are a formal brief record of what happened during a meeting.

Typically, the secretary of the group holding the meeting prepares written records of the proceedings of the meeting.

Minutes give a summary of the main points discussed in a meeting and decisions reached.

They should be accurate, brief, and clear.

During the meeting, take down all important points in short hand and abbreviations then write the records in full as soon as possible after the meeting.

 

Purposes for keeping minutes

Succinct minutes serve various purposes.

For instance they:

• Provide records of proceedings for future reference
• Serve as a legal document in court or supporting evidence in the case of disciplinary action
• Provide a point of departure for future decisions. Minutes act as a starting point for the next meeting hence helps to save time
• Hold members accountable for decisions they make during meetings
• Serve as reminders to members who were present
• Are a proof of the meeting having taken place, and a record of the issues discussed and decisions taken. They serve as a reference so that members are on the same page concerning what was agreed.
• Provide an easy-to-follow timeline for projects for stakeholders
• Tell members what they need to achieve and by what date
• A record of reference for those who did not attend the meeting

What should I include in the minutes?

Effective minutes should include;

• Name (title) of the group, place, date and time of the meeting.
• Names of participants and those who would be unable to attend
• Objectives/Purpose of the meeting: What is the central goal or main objective of the meeting? This provides direction to the meeting making the focus of the meeting clear.
• Agenda items and topics of discussion
• Acceptance/confirmation and corrections/amendments of previous minutes
• Actions/tasks that have been defined and agreed to be undertaken
• Due dates for action plans
• An owner responsible for undertaking each task
• A record of important resolutions
• Details of the next meeting (date, time, venue)

 

How do I write minutes of a meeting?

Before the meeting

• Clarify the purpose of the meeting
• Identify the participants
• Prepare topics to be discussed in advance. Allow reasonable amount of time for each topic
• Share a clearly defined agenda with attendees
• Helps everyone know the goals and objectives of the meeting
• Helps you stay on track and stick to the assigned time
• Communicate what is expected from participants

 

During the meeting

Starting

• The chair should review the agenda: participants should understand all the predefined topics, their goals and desired results.

 

Conducting the meeting

• Build notes as the meeting progresses
• Organize notes
• Differentiate actions from remarks
• Note different actions per person
• Clear deadlines or timelines
• Summarize key points. Only capture essential points
• Focus on ideas and objectives
• If anything is unclear, seek clarification  
• The chair should ensure there is good time management
• Follow the agenda. Don’t lose goal set for each topic.

 

Ending

• Summarize group's accomplishments, action points, decisions,
• Plan for the next step
• The chair should thank members for participation and contributions
• Ask for feedback

 

After the meeting

• Final minutes should be typed out in a logical not chronological manner
• Summarize actions, decisions and main points
• Share minutes with participants

 

Tips for writing effective minutes

• Be objective
• Use formal language
• Use past tense and reported speech throughout

The board approves the 2021 calendar

The board approved the 2021 calendar

• Assign each action item to someone who is responsible for it. Names of members are only used if they are given tasks
• Note due dates, timelines
• Don’t include unnecessary information.
• Be concise, but capture critical information
• Capture the purpose of meeting and agreed outcomes
• Start your actions with a verb.

Poor: 2021 timetables to be shared

Good: generate the 2021 timetables to share with members

• The resolutions can be introduced by phrases such as:

Members agreed

The chair explained

The meeting resolved

It was proposed

A member requested

 

AVOID;

• Recording everything verbatim; make a summary
• Recording personal thoughts or observations; only final resolutions are recorded. Minutes should be solely facts-based
• Handwriting the minutes; type, print and share

 

What is the format for writing minutes?

Heading

• Written in bold and underlined. Indicate the name of the group that is meeting, the date, time and venue of the meeting.

 

Attendance

• A record of members present absent with apologies, and absent without apologies in that order.
• Chairperson’s name recorded first and title indicated
• Indicate the capacities of other members present
• Names of persons invited to attend the meeting but not as members of the group (ex-officio members) are recorded as “In attendance”
• Ex-officio members may take part in discussions but have no power to vote

 

Items in minutes are numbered e.g.

Min 1/05 (1 is the serial no. while 05 is the year the minute took place)

Min 1/09/21 (1 serial no. 09 is the month September while 21 is the year)

Each minute bears its own heading based on items on the agenda

Under each minute, put down what was discussed, resolved, and the person expected to take action.

What was achieved, decisions made, actions agreed, who they were assigned to and what date they should be completed

 

Preliminaries

• Chair calls meeting to order, welcomes those present, and makes any other brief remarks.
• Secretary records starting time of meeting

 

Confirmation of minutes

• The secretary reads the minutes of previous meeting.
• Members can make any corrections.
• One member confirms the minutes to be a true record of what was said and agreed in the last meeting while another seconds them. Their names should be recorded.
• The (previous) minutes are then signed by the chair and the secretary
• After this, the members discuss matters arising from the previous minutes.

 

Matters Arising

• Members discuss issues on matters that had been deliberated on in the previous meeting
• They discuss the actions required to be taken
• While recording matters arising, the minute being referred to should be indicated e.g.

 

Min 4: Transport

Members wanted to know whether a bus had been hired for the proposed trip to the Nairobi National Park. The secretary reported that a 28-seater minibus had been hired.

 

Agenda Items/Business of the Day

• Agenda items for the current meeting are discussed in order and minutes are taken as a decision is reached on each item.

 

Any other business (AOB)

Members are allowed to raise issues that are not on the agenda but are relevant to the group.

 

Adjournment

• The date, time, and venue of the next meetings are indicated
• The chair ends the meeting
• The secretary records the time when the meeting ended

 

After the adjournment, leave space for the chair and secretary to sign, after confirmation (in the next meeting)  

Don’t sign in the spaces

 

Summary

Minutes of a meeting must capture

• What was achieved?
• Decisions made – serve as a written record
• Actions agreed
• Action itself
• Who it was assigned to
• Date it should be completed
• Date for the next meeting

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