HOW TO WRITE MEETING MINUTES

 All major meeting motions (except those withdrawn) and points of order or appeals. Incude
 Adjournment time, along with date, time, and place of next meeting check with the meeting
officers and members first
 Name of presiding officer and minutetaker due date name of person making the motion
 State whether or not the motion passed
 Use a tape recorder, if that’s easier for you (if you are writing minutes later); just be sure to

The Purpose of Meeting Minutes:

 Name of the organization or committee Meeting minutes are a helpful tool for recording
meeting activities, group or individual qaccomplishments, and for providing a record for the
group’s activities, programs, and issues.
 Tool to assist in followup of assignments and decisions, and the organizing of the next agenda
 Names of committee chairpersons, their reports and statement of committee assignment with
 Record to highlight procedures, traditional activities, etc.
 Tool for informing members not in attendance at a meeting
 Can assist when selecting members for award nominations, special programs, etc.
 Date, time, and place of meeting
 Ask the name of the person making the motion if you’re not sure of their name
 Notation of reading of previous minutes

What to Include in Meeting Minutes:

Some Hints on Writing Meeting Minutes:

 Identify major items of business in outline form or by underlining, bolding, etc.

 Use full names, not nicknames
 An official record of the organization’s business
 Type of meeting (reguar, special, etc.)
 Ask the presiding officer to restate a motion if you are unsure of exact phrasing
 Include any and all committee and officer reports along with new business.

MEETING MINUTES
What are Meeting Minutes?

Meeting minutes are notes that are recorded during a meeting. They highlight the key issues that are
discussed, motions proposed or voted on, and activities to be undertaken. The minutes of a meeting are
usually taken by a designated m1ember of the group. Their task is to provide an accurate record of what
transpired during the meeting.
Meeting Minutes

Steps Involved in Recording Meeting Minutes

There are five main steps involved in recording the minutes of a meeting. They are:

Pre-planning

Record-taking

Writing or transcribing the minutes

Sharing meeting minutes

Filing or storage of minutes for referencing in the future

Pre-Planning

If a meeting is well-planned in advance, taking minutes will be a lot easier. That said, the chairperson
and the secretary or minutes-recorder should work together to determine the agenda of the meeting
beforehand. For example, the person recording minutes could work with the chair to draft a document
that will serve as an agenda and provide the format for the meeting.

Meeting Agenda

If it’s not possible for the chair and secretary to meet and come up with a draft, then it’s up to the
secretary to get a copy of the agenda before the meeting starts. The meeting agenda will serve as a
guide for how to take notes and prepare the minutes. In addition, the agenda also includes other details,
which need to be incorporated in the minutes. They include:

Names of all the members present – includes guests and speakers

Documents that may be handed out as the meeting progresses, such as copies of a list of proposals to be
voted on

Expectations

When an individual is chosen as the minutes recorder, it’s important for them to know what is expected
of them. Therefore, the individual should approach the chair of the committee and ask what their role in
the meeting will be. For example, if the meeting will involve proposing motions, the designated member
should inquire as to whether he should include the names of those proposing motions and those
seconding.

What to Include in Meeting Minutes

Before recording any details, a designated minutes recorder should familiarize themselves with the type
of information that they should record. A group may be using a specific format to record notes but,
overall, the minutes of a meeting typically include the following details:
  Date and time the meeting happened
 Names of attendees, as well as absent participants
 Acceptance of, or amendments made to, the previous meeting’s minutes
 Decisions made regarding each item on the agenda, such as:
 Activities undertaken or agreed upon
 Next steps
 Outcomes of elections
 Motions accepted or rejected
 New business
 Date and time of the next meeting

The Process of Writing Meeting Minutes

When the meeting ends, the individual tasked with writing minutes should get all the resources he
needs to write up the minutes in a clear, presentable way. Here are some tips to consider:

 Once the meeting ends, don’t take too long to write the minutes. This way, everything that took
place in the meeting is still fresh in your mind.
 Review the outline that had been created earlier and make adjustments where necessary. This
might include adding extra information or clarifying some of the issues raised. Also, check to see
that all verdicts, activities, and motions were clearly recorded.
 Revise the minutes and ensure they’re brief but clear.

Distributing the Meeting Minutes

Once the secretary completes writing the minutes, he’s supposed to share them with the group
members. They can be shared online or through the cloud. Considering that minutes and other types of
documents can entail a lot of paperwork, it may be preferable to use a paperless sharing approach.

For example, if the minutes recorder was documenting the minutes using Microsoft Word, which does
not offer online sharing, then they might consider using Google docs, which offers a way of sharing
documents online with other users.

The recorder is also supposed to save a copy of the meeting minutes for future reference. Most
companies store their minutes online – either in Google Docs or OneDrive.

Key Takeaway
Meeting minutes are important because they are used to document the key issues raised during a
meeting. For example, effective minutes can state the approaches that were proposed to solve a
particular problem and the main reason why members choose one method over the other.

The minutes of the meeting can be recorded manually or on an electronic device such as a laptop or
iPad. After the meeting, the recorder reviews the minutes and makes edits where necessary. The
meeting minutes are then shared with the group participants. Apart from distribution, the minutes are
also saved for future reference.
Template
DATE: Date of the meeting.

TIME: At what time will the meeting be scheduled.

LOCATION: Where would the meeting be held.

PRESENT: First and last names of all those present at the meeting

ABSENT: First and last names of Committee members who are unable to attend the meeting.

1. CALL TO ORDER/OPENING REMARKS

The time that the meeting was called to order and by whom.

Any opening remarks summarized here.

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM (DATE)

You need a motion to approve the prior meeting's minutes.

Motion: To approve the minutes of (DATE) as circulated (or AMENDED) Motion By: Name of person
(FIRST & LAST) who made the motion

Seconded By: Name of the person (FIRST & LAST)) who seconded the motion Carried or Defeated

3. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

If there are additions to the agenda or requests for the next meeting's agenda, these would be bulleted
here.

4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Motion: to approve the agenda as circulated (or AMENDED)

Motion By: name of person (FIRST & LAST) who made the motion

Seconded By: name of person (FIRST & LAST) who made the motion Carried or Defeated

5. BUSINESS FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Any items from the previous meeting that need to be discussed further

5.1 ITEM 1. TO BE DISCUSSED

Put a summary of the discussion around the topic

If any motions were made, put the information here

If further information is needed, put follow-ups, names, and a target date here
5.2. ITEM 2. TO BE DISCUSSED

Any other items

6. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

Any added agenda Item, including a summary of the discussions around this item

If any motions were made, put information here

If further information is needed, put follow-ups, names, and a target date here

7. ADJOURNMENT

Record the time the meeting was adjourned

8. NEXT MEETING (DATE)

The next meeting date should be decided at the end of the meeting before everyone leaves. It's a handy
reminder to include it at the bottom of the minutes template so it isn't missed.
Below is a pictorial sample of a meeting minute template

SPECIMEN – MINUTES
MINUTES

JOHN’S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

Madurai

Minutes of the annual meeting of the Board of Studies in English (UG) held at the Department of English,
John’s College, Madurai at 11.00 a.m. on 20 January 2015.

Members Present :

1. Dr. Suresh Chand (Chairman)

2. Dr. John

3. Prof. Shilpa

4. Prof. Das

5. Dr. Manoj Kumar

Members absent :

1.Prof. Uma Sankar

2. Dr. James

1. Syllabus

No change to be made for 2015-2016 admissions

2. Prescription of Text books

No change to be made for 2015-2016 admissions

3. Comments on question papers set for previous examinations

The following may be brought to the attention of the Controller of Examinations:

a. In Paper VI of November 2014, the following questions were asked from outside the

syllabus –

In Q.No.1 and Q. No. 4 both (a) and (b) were outside the syllabus.

Q. No.12 was too vague and general for a short answer.

Questions from outside the syllabus may be avoided in future.

4. The Chairman has the authority to submit the panel of question paper setters and

Examiners to the Controller of Examinations.

5. Restructuring of Courses to introduce job – oriented courses.

The proposal by Dr. John and Prof. Das for Skill Based Programmes and Personality Development
Programmes for all the students to be conducted by the Department of English was approved.

6. Any other item admitted by the Chair

The proposal by Dr. Manoj Kumar for a Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma Courses in
Communicative and Functional English to be conducted by the Department of English was approved.

The meeting ended at 1 p.m. with a vote of Thanks by the Chair.

Sd/-

Dr. Suresh Chand

Chairman