Minute taking is a key to any Administrators career, so
Secretaries, PAs and Admin Assistants should look towards developing this
skill. The skills of being a good minute taker are not that easy to master because
you should realistically be able to go into any type of meeting and make
accurate minutes.
Why is this so important?
Minutes are generally taken at more important meeting, which
will mean that many influential and senior managers will attend the meeting.
Therefore, this may be one of the few times that your profile is raised within
your company. At this point, you will be in a room with most important people
in your company and when you publish your minutes all of the eyes are on you.
Author prakaroij and image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
If you fail to take good minutes or the minutes are
inaccurate or lacking relevance, it can be detrimental to your image and
career. However, if you appear in control and deliver good quality minutes, it
can have a great effect on your future image within the company.
What should I do?
·
Develop a relationship with the Chair of the
meeting: A good chair will work with the minute taker, but all too often they don’t
help the minute taker at all. There should be a mode of communication
established between the Chair and Minute Taker to ensure that you are clear on
the main point as you move on.
· Develop an agenda and a plan of the meeting:
Ensure that you have a structure to the meeting on an agenda. This is the basis
of ensuring the meeting runs to schedule and keeps to the point. However, you
can use it to ensure you keep on the topic and summarise your minutes to the
key important points.
· Use shorthand and speedwriting: You will need to
write quickly to ensure you get the details. Codes for each person and
shorthand techniques help. You do not need to learn set shorthand for this.
· Research: You must research everything in the
meeting fully. So any new subject matter, the background of the meeting and any
other items needs full understanding and research to get to grips with any
discussion before the meeting. It is a great confidence builder if you are
feeling uncertain.
Author prakaroij and image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
Establish yourself in the meeting room: Make
sure that you are visible in the meeting and have a presence, so that people
ensure that they interact with you and ensure that you get the important
points.
There are many other key skills that need to be covered by a
minute taker, but this gives you more of a focus on how to prepare and conduct
yourself in the meeting. Find out more about Minute Taking at
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