Creating Minutes: The Sherpany's Meeting Minutes ABC
Taking minutes is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the business world - yet this work is considered the supreme discipline in administration. This is because transcripts of meetings provide the opportunity to review what was said at any time. They are important reminders and sometimes also valuable pieces of evidence.
Writing minutes is an unpopular task. They should actually be understood by all meeting participants. But this only happens if they are well structured. That's why Sherpany (see her new homepage at this Link) a quintessential question: What does a successful protocol template look like?
Clear structure saves nerves
Clarity is important. Meetings often last several hours, the minutes become longer and longer and the risk of confusion in the document increases with the duration of the meeting. If you write it down without an outline, you will regret it later. For the minute taker, it is a good idea to follow the agenda chronologically and to set a title for each topic. These can of course be supplemented by further subtitles.
Furthermore, it should always be clear who is speaking. To do this, you can simply write the name in front of the respective meeting topic. Visually, you can also choose a color for each participant and color the font accordingly. This also simplifies the work with the minutes later.
To make the effort worthwhile
With a little work, the minutes will not be an arbitrary reproduction of keywords, but moreover what a protocol actually is: a reminder. The most important points are clarity, coherence and the distribution of tasks. If you take these into account, you will have a document in your hand after the meeting that reflects the meeting in the best possible way. So that even in the future it can be reliably reconstructed at any time what was said - and what was not. After all, the time-consuming work of the minute-taker should not have been in vain.
With SHERPANY as your partner, you can organize your management and board meetings more effectively, knowing that you are also protecting the environment.
For more information and PDF checklists on this topic, please go directly to this Link
Editor's note: This article was originally written by Michael Trommer.
