The Seven Purposes of Minutes
I typically start my Minute Taking Made Easy workshops by asking my class if they like taking minutes. After a few chuckles and groans, the overwhelming response is no; they do not like it at all. I think it is fair to say that while we don’t like the task, most...
Meetings bogged down with routine items? Consider a “consent agenda”
If your Board wants to save time and streamline its meetings, consider using a “consent agenda.”A consent agenda is a group of routine discussion points wrapped into one singleagenda item. Roberts Rules of Order also calls it a “consent...
Top 10 Tips – Minute Taking – What to Include
Most people dislike taking minutes. They struggle trying to figure out what everyone is saying and what is important enough to make it to the final copy. I find the cause is they've never really been taught what to include in their documents and...
Taking Minutes in Virtual and Hybrid Meetings
Two and a half years ago, when we were all thrown into turmoil and asked to work from home, we had to make some major adjustments to the way in which we held our meetings. Naturally, that has affected the way we take minutes.Although most of us are...
Taking Minutes 101: Tracking Attendance
Every Tuesday morning at 9:30, my executive held his weekly manager's meeting. I took the minutes. One of the managers, Barbara, was always the last person to join the meeting, and she was always late. As everyone walked into the boardroom, I would write down...
Minute Taking Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult
Remember the game, Telephone, that we played as kids? One person wouldwhisper a message to the person beside them, and they would whisper it alongto the person beside them. When the message reached the end of the line andthe last person shared aloud what the message...
You should use your laptop for minutes: here’s why
Are you using a laptop, yet, to take minutes? I hope the answer is yes. However, if it’s no, let me convince you. Taking minutes using a laptop is better than the traditional approach of pen and paper.I realize that for many people there is some fear about...
Why You Should Avoid “Who Said What” Minutes
Meetings were on Tuesday mornings. I was new to the role of EA to the VP and Regional Manager, and taking minutes was one of my tasks. Only … I didn’t have a clue how to take minutes. During the job interview, they’d asked me if I could take minutes, and my...
The Seven Deadly Sins of Meetings
Meetings are the number-one time waster in the workplace, according to a study by Verizon Business. They say that the average executive spends approximately 50 per cent of their time in meetings. The average middle manager spends...