Meeting minutes are imperative. Yet, actually taking those meeting minutes isn’t as easy as it may seem. How do you take effective, succinct and professional meeting minutes? Take a look below for our top tips on how to take effective meeting minutes.

1. Use a meeting agenda

Taking minutes shouldn’t start when the meeting does. The minutes should be planned well before the meeting. You can do this by using a detailed meeting agenda. For example, discussion points should already be in the minutes and ready to go, which means you can focus solely on taking down the important things people are saying.

2. Have clear action items

An action item is a task that is usually raised during a meeting and is designated to a specific person or team. In order for action items to be successful, the minutes need to be clear about the respective tasks board members have agreed to undertake. 

3. Send out the minutes quickly

The minutes are meant to be a contemporaneous document aimed at being an accurate reflection of the events. In other words, minutes should be written like a letter to an unknown future judge of what occurred at the meeting. All board members should approve the meeting minutes before the end of the meeting, so they can be sent out straight away.

How can Process PA help? 

Process PA is cloud-based software that automates association procedures and paperwork, saving committee members from administration time. New office bearers are guided through their role and compliance requirements through simple yet effective handovers, ensuring committee processes are maintained.

Agenda Templates, automatic notifications, online Members, Motions and Action registers. Everything taken care of.