Writing Effective Minutes of Meeting

Learning Outcomes / Benefits

• Improve their basic proficiency in the English language
• Improve their level of confidence when communicating
• Identify styles of communication
• Have a better overall understanding of how meetings are conducted
• Know the techniques for taking and summarising notes of meetings
• Write the different types of minutes and use the appropriate language for them
• Write minutes clearly, concisely and professionally

Introduction

“Practice makes perfect” — Many of us may be asked to prepare an agenda or take notes during meetings and write up the minutes after that. This can be a challenging task, especially when you have not been trained on how and what to do. To write minutes clearly and correctly, you will need to be proficient in the language, skilful in note-taking, summarising, listening and knowing with whom you are communicating with. Therefore, this training provides the essential practice on these skills so that you can apply them at the workplace. I look forward to sharing my experience and knowledge with you when you attend this training.

Key Content

Pre-Assessment
Objective: To gauge the level of proficiency in order to apply and adapt to different styles of communication.

Module 1.0: Facing Today's Communication Challenges
1.1 Overcoming F.E.A.R when communicating
1.2 Identifying and adapting to different styles of communication
1.3 How NLP ensures effective meeting outcomes
1.4 What are meeting minutes

Module 2.0: All About Meeting Minutes
2.1 Essence of a meeting
  2.11 Decisions made (motions made, votes, etc.)
  2.12 Next steps planned
  2.13 Identification and tracking of action items
2.2 Purpose of meeting minutes
  2.21 What happened
  2.22 What was discussed
  2.23 Decisions made
2.3 Why meeting minutes are important
  2.31 Structure
  2.32 Organised
  2.33 Transparency
2.4 What should be included in meeting minutes
  2.41 The title of the group or meeting
  2.42 Date, time, and venue
  2.43 Attendance and recorder
  2.44 Agenda
  2.45 Decisions made and by whom
  2.46 Motions and vote counts (if applicable)

Module 3.0: The 5 Steps Of Meeting Minutes
3.1 Pre-planning
3.2 Record taking during the meeting
3.3 Minutes writing or transcribing
3.4 Distributing or sharing of minutes
3.5 Filing or storage for future reference

Module 4.0: Revising, Editing And Proofreading The NLP Style
4.1 The 3 “R” concept
4.2 Writing minutes that capture attention
4.3 Writing according to audience and situation
4.4 How to write meeting minutes
  4.41 Do’s – the basics
  4.42 Don’ts – what not to include

Module 5.0: Mock Meeting Session
5.1 Running a mock meeting to understand roles and functions
5.2 Groups to produce minutes according to requested styles

Module 6.0: Basics Of English Grammar
6.1 Grammar exercises
6.2 Commonly misspelt words
6.3 Confusing words
6.4 Redundant words
6.5 Choice of words from an NLP perspective

Methodology

• Interactive group-based activities
• Grammar and exercises handouts for practice
• Group discussion with trainer
• Video clips (discussion & presentation)
• PowerPoint notes/explanations
• Problem-solving activities
• Competition-based activities with rewards
• Website references for long-term assistance
• Post-training assistance (1 month)

Trainer’s Experience

• 14 years of experience in Corporate training (Business Communication, Customer Service, Team Building, Telephone Skills)
• 11 years as a lecturer in a Private International British-based boarding school
• Specialises in customised training, interactive facilitation, and producing measurable results
• Focus on long-term training strategies, on-the-job application, and upgrading English proficiency for business environments