Essential Meeting Skills

Chair Training & Minute Taking

Lorna Reavley :
Representation & Volunteering Manager

Mihaela Spirova:
Executive Administrator
Aims and Objectives

Understand the role and importance of the chair
person and role of the minute taker

Understand the key tasks and challenges of the
roles

Identify potential strategies and solutions to
common problems

Enable participants to become more efficient and
confident in these roles

Enable participants to present minutes in a clear
and understandable format


Exercise

Work in small groups to discuss
and decide on what you believe
the role of the chair and the role
of the minute taker is

Role of the Chair

The role of the Chair is to ensure all
participants in a meeting can
contribute to a structured
discussion which leads to a clear
decision at the end of the meeting.

The Role of the Minute Taker
To present an accurate and concise
written snapshot of a meeting
To identify and capture key points
To determine the appropriate language
To keep a record of minutes for future
reference

Key Skills
Chair
Impartial
Assertive
Control
Listening
Awareness
Summarising
Timing

Minute Taker
Accuracy
Listening
Ability to identify key points
and actions
Spelling
Can read own writing
Objective
A Good Chair

helps the meeting to run smoothly and
efficiently.

They will make sure that:
all the business is discussed
everyones views are heard
clear decisions are reached
keeps order
the meeting starts and finishes on time.

Will be thinking about the meeting
overall, not just the topic under discussion

always aims to draw a balance between
hearing everyones views and getting
through the business.

never uses their position as chair as an
opportunity to put forward their views to
the exclusion of others, or to dominate the
meeting.

Exercise
Watch the video and identify the issues or
problems
Think about what it might feel like to be a part
of the meeting
What might it feel like to be the chair
Is this how you would like to chair meetings?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQW1fEwY
ZVA



Key Tasks of a Chair:
Before the meeting:

Agenda
list of things you want to discuss
Helps you plan and cover everything
Map of the meeting!
Helps you time things appropriately

Prepare
Know what the meeting is about and what you need to
get from it

Key Tasks ( cont.)

At the start of the meeting

Welcoming everyone and Introductions
Ensure people know what the meeting is
about
Meeting rules

Examples of meeting rules
Ask people to speak through the chair.

Dont interrupt other people.

Stick to the item on the agenda.

Dont talk amongst yourselves.

Respect other peoples views

Keep contributions short and to the point.

Start and finish the meeting on time.

Key Tasks ( cont.)

In the meeting

Getting through the business on time

Involving everyone

Reaching decisions

Dealing with difficult people

Exercise

Flip charts with all key tasks in
the meeting
In groups go around and write
some ideas of how to make
sure this happens
Key Tasks ( cont.)

At the End of the Meeting

Summarise decisions taken and action points to be
followed up e.g. who's responsible, by when.

Agree a date for the next meeting - it is usually best
to set dates for the year's meetings well in advance.

Agree what special items will be put on the agenda
of the next meeting

Ensure that the minutes are written up , checked by
the Chair and sent out in good time.

Purpose and Use of Minutes
What minutes are
Minutes are a written representation of the discussions
had and decisions made in a meeting
Why minutes are important
Minutes enable an organisation to meet its obligation to
conduct business in a transparent and accountable
manner. They keep the organisations membership,
stakeholders, or the general public informed on the
progress of decisions that affect them. They also allow
teams to check on progress against required actions.



Formats and Styles


Formal
Informal
Action

Key Tasks of a Minute Taker:
Before the meeting:

Prepare an outline based on the agenda ahead
of time, and leave plenty of white space for
notes.
Prepare a list of expected attendees and check
off the names as people enter the room
Ensure that all of the essential elements are
noted


Key Tasks of a Minute Taker:

In the meeting

Focus, focus, focus

Do not write down every single comment unless
those comments affect the decision made

Try to record key issues, major points raised and
decisions made

If taking minutes for the first time, make sure you
take enough notes to be able to summarise them
later on

Key Tasks (cont):
After the meeting

Type up / edit the minutes as soon as
possible, preferably within 48 hours

Double check for grammatical and spelling
errors

Make sure you have the minutes approved
by the Chair before distributing them

The Challenges of the Minute Taker
When hearing/understanding is difficult

Long debates

Spelling mistakes

Being asked to amend or to not include
something in the minutes

Exercise

Watch the video

Practise taking the minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=HS4KmZaIEE0&feature=BF
a&list=PL5F836BD4752DF22D


Key questions
When and where was the meeting? Title/purpose?
Who attended? (including the name of the minute taker)
Who did not attend?
What topics were discussed?
What was decided?
What actions were agreed upon?
Who is to complete the actions, by when?
Were materials distributed at the meeting? If so, are copies
or a link available?
Is a follow-up meeting scheduled? If so, when? where? why?



Questions....

?