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Note Taking & Minutes for Meetings: Note Taking Course Outline

Most people have to take notes or minutes of meetings occasionally as part of their work. You may also need to set agendas, manage meetings and ensure they cover the necessary content while also running to time – which can seem daunting. On this course you’ll learn simple techniques to give you a solid foundation in listening, writing and editing skills. You’ll be able to produce accurate and readable minutes and sharpen up your note taking ability.

This notes and minute taking course includes organisational hints and tips for note takers, and covers grammar, punctuation and proof-reading to make sure the final document is completely professional. We encourage you to bring a page or so of your own minutes or notes to the session so you can immediately practise some of the ideas on your own work. Delegates also share ideas about what works for them.

What you will learn during this note taking course

To create accurate and timely meeting notes you will know how to:

• Create an effective agenda that will help your meeting run smoothly
• Listen actively for relevant content and know how to maintain concentration
• Use a variety of techniques to ensure you have the best support when note taking
• Avoid common grammatical and punctuation mistakes
• Write meeting minutes in a clear, concise style and be aware of accepted conventions
• Use impartial and accurate descriptions that convey your content effectively and professionally
• Give your meeting notes that final polish before you send them

What our customers say

“I enjoyed this course very much. It was very informative and helpful, but in an engaging way. Thank you.”

DW, Lancaster City Council

“Excellent course and very enjoyable.”

PM, APACS

“This course has helped me to identify my problem with ‘minute taking’. It has also given me the confidence to produce better formatted minutes.”

YB, Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning

How we deliver the note taking course

It is available as a one-day tutor-led Virtual Classroom.

Minute Taking Course Contents

1. What should good meeting minutes achieve?

• What benefits do minutes bring to your organisation?
• What sort of minutes do you need to write?
• What does it all mean? – a glossary of meeting-related terms

2. Are you listening?

• Six ways to listen powerfully
• Six things that can break your concentration, and how to avoid them
• Bad habits that make note-taking harder

3. Organisational hints, tips and tools for note taking and managing the meeting

• Invent your own shorthand – shortcuts when note taking in longhand and a table of useful abbreviations
• Note taker’s survival kit – the essentials to have at hand
• Importance of pre-meeting preparation
• Managing the meeting and the Chair – constructive ways to work together
• Meeting timelines – what should happen when? A stress-saving checklist
• Effectively taking notes with remote attendees

4. How’s your handwriting?

• What causes handwriting to be tiring or illegible?
• Yes, you can blame your tools! What's the best writing implement for you?
• Exercises to keep your hands limber
• Exercises to help you write more legibly

5. What makes a good agenda?

• What is a meeting agenda?
• Setting and distributing your agenda
• What to include to help you or the Chair run the meeting effectively

6. The right minutes for your meeting – layout and style

• What you should and shouldn’t include – recognising facts from chatter
• More formal meetings like AGMs – votes, proposers, seconders, elections, resolutions
• Sample minutes for formal meetings
• Minuting informal meetings
• Sample minutes for an informal meeting
• Recording decisions and actions
• Creating an action summary

7. Techniques for writing good notes or minutes

• How to word minutes – active or passive, bullets or full sentences?
• Avoid wording that indicates bias
• Plain Words’ rules for good writing
• Making Word® work for you

8. Polishing your prose

• The paragraphs, the sentences, the words
• The grammar and punctuation
• Proofing – how to see what’s really there
• Commonly confused words
• Things that make some people cross!

Exercises

You’ll practise new techniques with hands-on exercises, including:

Practical ways to make your writing more concise and readable

Prioritising agenda items

Deciding what to minute and what to leave out

Word-for-word, reported speech or bullet form?

Summarising from dictation

Practising your proofreading

After the session, you will also receive two MS Word™ templates, for agendas and minutes, which you can adapt for your own use.

Enquire about a course Now!

For the timetable of all courses see the schedule.

For more details you can enquire about a public course, enquire about a private course, call us on +44 (0)1235 60 30 22 or email .