Preparing Minutes of Meeting

What are minutes?

 Minutes are a brief authentic or legal record of decisions or resolutions taken at a

committee, board or other formal meetings.
 It attempts to record on paper what went on at a meeting and especially to know what
was decided or transacted by the members.
 It is the secretary’s job to write the minutes and he or she must ensure that accuracy is
the primary consideration in writing.

Why Minutes?
 To help the members of the committee to know what happened in the previous
meeting.
 To give informations to the members who are absent.
 To facilitate the committee to confirm the resolutions taken in the meeting on paper by
the members present or absent.
 To circulate the copy of minutes among the members.
 To keep record for future reference.

Why are Minutes of a Meeting important?

1. Legal Record. The minutes of meetings are official documents and they are legal
records for the activities and proceedings of an organization. It is in meetings that
critical decisions are made and actions are undertaken; thus, it is necessary for such
events to be put on official record, for both posterity and legal purposes.
2. Legal Protection. Meeting minutes will serve as a written record of the proceedings
and decisions made during meetings. The minutes are representative of the actions of
the board and top management in a company. Therefore, if something is not in the
minutes, then that something did not happen.

3. Drive Action. Good meeting minutes help the company in getting to the goals. They
help explain the company’s plan of action, determine the organization’s next plans and
directions, and they also serve to remind everybody involved about their specific tasks
in order to attain a goal. At the same time, they also remind everyone that they have
that task that they agreed to the assignment of the said task.

4. Measuring Point. The minutes can serve as a measuring point to determine whether
certain goals have been reached or simply to track the progress of a set of targeted
goals. Members are typically assigned to handle task and the minutes will be the basis in
determining the status of said assigned task.
Do’s and Dont's Tips

1.Write as soon after the meeting.

As soon as the meeting is done, it is best that you rewrite or transcribe your minutes
immediately. The more you delay this, the more you forget critical details that may have
occurred in your meeting.

2. Write details that matter.

Do not write everything that is said by everybody. Only write the essential topics,
motions made, decisions agreed, and action items assigned.

3. Avoid using expressions and don’t include details that may embarrass others.

4. Negative words and expressions are also to be avoided.

Use positive words as much as possible. If not, use neutral ones. For instance, instead of
saying, “A heated exchange…”, say “A healthy exchange of ideas…”, or “An
energetic/passionate debate…”.