Jamela- Minute Taking

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Executive PA and Secretaries- Minute Writing

• Mhanqwa Mandla Jamela

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Training Schedule
1 Welcome and Introduction 08h30
2 Training 08h40
3 Tea Break 10h30
4 Training 10h45
5 Lunch 13h00
6 Training 13h45
7 Tea Break 14h30
8 Training 14h45
9 Closure 16h00
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SECRETARY OR PERSONAL ASSISTANT
DEFINITION In ancient civilization , a very
important servant at his master s service
within hand reach In modern day, secretaries
range from office secretary to Secretary of State
(British/American Ministers)
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SECRETARIES IMPORTANT ROLE

• Apply excellent organizational skills
• Tactful
• Diplomacy
• Effective communication skills
• Maintain confidentiality in sensitive matters
• Display excellent judgment judiciousness
• Ability to anticipate their employers needs and
  take care of them before they are asked to do so

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SECRETARIES AMBASADORS

• A dvance yourself constantly. Develop new
  skills, new software programs, attend workshops,
  seminars, refresher courses
• M aximise your people skills. Learn how to
  build and maintain positive relationships at work
• B e open minded. Be willing to look at knew
  information in new light so that you can make new
  decisions based on new information
• A djust your goals and set new ones
• S witch on to technology.
• D evelop your skills and abilities. Seek new
  challenges constantly, and take on new
  responsibilities that will expand you skill base.

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SECRETARIES AMBASADORS

• O utshine yourself. Give your best all the time
  and it will build consistently into a superior
  level of performance.
• R evise your working routines and practices
  constantly. Look for new ways to do things
  better, quicker, more efficiently and more
  effectively.

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PROFESSIONAL EFFECTIVE MINUTE TAKING

• WHAT IS A MEETING?

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MEETING DEFINITION

• When two or more people come together for the
  purpose of discussing a (usually) predetermined
  topic such as business or community event
  planning, often in a formal setting.

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WHAT IS MEETING

• In addition to coming together physically (in
  real life, facet o face), communication lines and
  equipment can also be set up to have a discussion
  between people at different locations, e.g.
  Conference call or an e-meeting

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MEETING MINUTES

• Minutes are the official record of an
  organization.
• It is crucial that they are accurate since they
  are the legal record of the proceedings and
  actions of the organization.

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Why meeting minutes areimportant

• Decisions made (motions made, votes, etc.)
• Next steps planned
• Identification and tracking of action items
• When a meetings outcomes impact other
  collaborative activities or projects within the
  organization
• Minutes can serve to notify (or remind)
  individuals of tasks assigned to them and/or
  timelines

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TYPES OF MINUTES

• Minutes of resolution
• Minutes of narration

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MINUTES OF RESOLUTION

• In this type of minutes, only the resolution
  passed at a meeting are recorded and no reference
  is made to any discussion preceding the
  resolution.

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MINUTES OF NARRATION

• Minutes of narration are somewhat similar to a
  report. Here, in addition to the resolution
  passed, a brief account of the discussion and the
  voting pattern is also included.

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PRESENTATION OF MINUTES
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Whats involved with meetingminutes?

• There are essentially five steps involved with
  meeting minutes
• Pre-Planning
• Record taking - at the meeting
• Minutes writing or transcribing
• Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes
• Filing or storage of minutes for future reference

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1. Pre-planning

• A well-planned meeting helps ensure effective
  meeting minutes.
• If the Chair and the Secretary or minutes-taker
  work together to ensure the agenda and meeting
  are well thought out, it makes minute taking much
  easier.
• Depending on the meeting structure and the tools
  you use, the minutes-taker could work with the
  Chair to create a document format that works as
  an agenda and minutes outline as well.

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AGENDA

• Agenda is a document that outlines the contents
  of a forthcoming meeting.
• Effective agenda is one of the most important
  elements for a productive meeting.
• It is usually sent along with the notice of the
  meeting, which gives the participant an
  opportunity to come prepared for the upcoming
  discussions or decisions.

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EXAMPLE OF AGENDA

• 1. Minutes of the last meeting
• 2. Matters arising from the minutes
• 3. Financial irregularities in X branch
• 4. Reorganization of work in Y branch
• 5. Any other business
• 6. Date of next meeting.

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IMPORTANCE OF AGENDA

• Agenda aid the process of meeting by putting the
  meeting plan into a permanent, written form.
• A good meeting agenda serve as a guide to
  participants, making the meeting more efficient
  and productive.
• Since agenda has a set order, it helps the
  chairperson to conduct the meetings Smoothly.

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AGENDA.

• It ensures that only matters relevant to that
  particular meeting are discussed.
• It can be used as a checklist to ensure that all
  the information is covered.
• It also facilitates the preparation of the
  minutes.

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Agenda Checklist

• Name of the meeting
• Date and Time
• Exact location of the meeting
• A list of expected attendees
• Expected meeting duration
• Clearly stated objectives of the
• meeting
• An agenda item to approve the minutes of the
  previous meeting
• An agenda item to handle matters arising from
  the previous meetings minutes (actions that
  havent been completed for example)
• An agenda item at the end to handle AOB Any
  Other Business

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Agenda Checklist

• Each agenda item should be numbered
• Each agenda item should have a time allotted to
  it
• Where you have a speaker, their name should be
  next to the agenda item so they know they are
  running that item of the agenda.
• An agenda should be circulated in advance
  (ideally the day before)
• As chair (or secretary) you should bring enough
  printed copies of the agenda to the meeting and
  print-outs of the last meetings minutes for
  everyone.
• The whole agenda should be simple and clear for
  all participants to understand, without extensive
  prior knowledge.

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2. Record taking - what shouldbe included?

• Before you start taking notes, its important to
  understand the type of information you need to
  record at the meeting.
• Your organization may have required content and
  a specific format that youll need to follow, but
  generally, meeting minutes usually include the
  following
• -Date, time and place of the meeting
• -Name of the presiding officer and secretary
• -Names of the meeting participants and those
  unable to attend
• -Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous
  meeting minutes

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3. The Minutes Writing Process

• Once the meeting is over, its time to pull
  together your notes and write the minutes.
• - Write the minutes as soon after the meeting as
  possible while everything is fresh in your mind.
• Review your outline and if necessary, add
  additional notes or clarify points raised.
• Check to ensure all decisions, actions and
  motions are clearly noted. Check for sufficient
  detail
• - include a short statement of each action taken
  by the board
• and a brief explanation of the rationale for the
  decision
• when there is extensive deliberation before
  passing a motion,
• summarize the major arguments
• Edit to ensure brevity and clarity, so the
  minutes are easy to read.

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Meeting writing process

• Decisions made about each agenda item, for
  example
• Actions taken or agreed to be taken
• Next steps
• Voting outcomes e.g., (if necessary, details
  regarding who made motions who seconded and
  approved or via show of hands, etc.)
• Motions taken or rejected
• Items to be held over
• New business
• Next meeting date and time

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Meeting Writing process

• Be objective.
• Write in the same tense throughout
• Avoid using peoples names except for motions
  or seconds. This is a business document, not
  about who said what.
• Avoid inflammatory or personal observations.
• If you need to refer to other documents, attach
  them in an appendix or indicate where they may be
  found. Dont rewrite their intent or try to
  summarize them.

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What NOT TO INCLUDE

• The opinion or interpretation of the secretary
• Judgmental phrases e.g. heated debate
  valuable comment
• Discussion Minutes are a record of what was
  done at the meeting, not what was said at the
  meeting
• Motions that were withdrawn

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4. Distributing or SharingMeeting Minutes

• As the official minutes-taker or Secretary,
  your role may include dissemination of the
  minutes.
• However, before you share these, be sure that
  the Chair has reviewed and either revised and/or
  approved the minutes for circulation

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5. Filing/Storage of MeetingMinutes

• Most committees and Boards review and either
  approve or amend the minutes at the beginning of
  the subsequent meeting.
• Once youve made any required revisions, the
  minutes will then need to be stored for future
  reference.
• Some organizations may store these online (e.g.,
  in Google docs or SkyDrive) and also back these
  up on an external hard drive.
• You may also need to print and store hard copies
  as well or provide these to a staff member or
  Chair for filing.