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5 tips to write more effective meeting minutes

As the most important person in the room apart from the chair, here are five tips any minute taker can use to improve efficiency and productivity when writing minutes.

Tips for taking minutes in a meeting
Taking minutes of a meeting can be hard

1. Be an active listener

Even if you are not taking part in the meeting and your role is to take the minutes it is important to use strong listening skills to ensure that you note the actions agreed by the participants.

Active listening is a valuable technique to use when you have been tasked with taking minutes. Active listening allows you to clarify and double check with the chair or key participants that you have understood what has been agreed and what they would like you to include in the minutes.

It can be awkward to interrupt people during a meeting to clarify your understanding, however by positioning the request as a question i.e ‘just to ensure this is what has been agreed could you just summarise the points for me?’  Identify yourself to the group at the beginning, so they can see you signal if you need spellings, details etc.

2. Sit as close as possible to the chairperson

You’re more likely to hear what they say, of course and, if necessary, double check what was stated or agreed upon, too. By incorporating the position and focus of the chair to the meeting, it helps the Chair both lead and stay on point as much as it helps you to record accurately what has been said.

3. Write up the minutes as soon as possible

Obviously, the longer you wait to write up the minutes after the meeting has finished, the more likely you are to forget what happened. Use key words and try to get an overall picture of what was presented or use quick drawings, since the mind remembers images more.

4. Take minutes on your Laptop

Some still take minutes in their notebook and after the meeting write up the notes on their laptop. It might take a little practice, but taking your laptop and writing the minutes on your qwerty keyboard can save you a lot of time afterwards. If you’re worried about missing any of the key points agreed during the meeting you could use a recording device as long as you double check with the participants that they have no objections.

You may also want to use a specialist software programme to improve the speed of your touch typing.

5. Don’t put your feelings in the minutes

Minutes are a legal document to record a summary of the actions taken and agreed upon. The minute taker should remain objective and not give their opinion in the minutes. For example, they should not write “John made an excellent point about…”

In the past the stenographer or minute taker would use shorthand. New ways of taking minutes and saving you time are available through our course Minutes Writing Course, which helps you with the objective of recording the specifics: actions and time frames.

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How to overcome nerves during public speaking

The nature of nerves

Several years ago, a survey was conducted to identify the top 10 public fears. Public speaking came up as number 1! Above spiders and other creepy crawlies, deep water, heights, illness, financial worries, open spaces, flying – death came in about number 9 on the list. The key point here is that apparently the scariest thing we can do in our lives is stand in front of people and speak.

Why the fear factor?

Public speaking is often considered an umbrella fear meaning many different fears bundled together under one heading. We tend to focus on the many things that could go wrong when presenting.

For example my mouth will dry up, my mind will go blank, I’ll fall over, I’ll burst into tears, they’ll laugh at me, I’ll swear and embarrass myself and my boss, who’s in the audience.

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A wise man once said: ‘the human brain is a wonderful thing. It starts working the moment you are born, and doesn’t stop until you stand up to speak in public’.

Basically we imagine the worst case scenario and carry that with us into the presentation.

The physical effects

As soon as you perceive a threat (you have to deliver a presentation to 20 people) and become nervous, your primitive survival instinct, fight or flight, ignites. Your brain releases 2 stimulants into your bloodstream, adrenaline and cortisol, which bring about immediate physical changes.

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  • Our heart rate increases; the heart is now working overtime, pumping blood and oxygen to the parts of us which need it most to keep us alive. Ultimately it just wants us to be physically strong enough to deal with the threat – to either fight back, or to run away (take flight).
  • Your body temperature rises. Who doesn’t get sweaty when they are nervous?
  • A rush of blood to the head? This explains why a lot of people’s faces turn red when they’re either angry or embarrassed.
  • Butterflies in your stomach? The blood normally reserved for this area has been sent to other parts of your body, so you feel nauseous.

The main message here is that the fight or flight instinct gives us a colossal amount of nervous energy. Let’s use it!

With practice, this energy becomes your ally when presenting, and can have a significant impact on performance. If you turn it in on yourself, it becomes anxiety which eats away at you. However, if you send it outwards towards the audience, it manifests itself as energy, enthusiasm and vitality. This works incredibly well.

So what’s the big secret?

How do we become more confident presenters? Is it acupuncture, aromatherapy, breathing exercises, hypnotherapy? Perhaps, but for me, the answer is much simpler: practice. Practice, practice, practice and then practice some more. The more you repeat any skill or behaviour, the more it becomes embedded. Whenever opportunities to present arise, grab them with both hands. Not an easy answer but the most effective one!

Conclusion

What have we learnt? If we get nervous before a presentation, that’s good! It means we’re human and not perfect presenting robots. With practice, we can harness the nervous energy and use it to be an enthusiastic and engaging presenter.

Mark Twain once said this: “There are 2 kinds of public speaker. Those that are nervous, and those that are liars.”