What’s the perfect note-taking tool?
These days you can choose a note-taking tool that fits your work style. Consider these options from members of the Young Entrepreneur Council.
Category: Taking Minutes
Set the stage for a meeting note-taker
High-speed presentations, rambling discussions, unclear decisions, and vague action items at meetings without agendas make life hard for meeting note-takers, writes Lynn Gaertner-Johnston. Here are a few of her tips for organizing meetings that are easier to record.
50 verbs to spice up your writing
If you find yourself repeating the same words over and over when you take minutes, Executive Assistant Nickey Christmas, who blogs all things PA, EA and VA related on her Practically Perfect PA blog, offers a good list of verbs “that you can slot into the minutes as and when you need them.”
Should you take notes in meetings electronically?
For some people, a computer will never replace a pen and paper for note-taking during meetings. But for others, electronic notes may make more sense, especially if they have to share them electronically anyway. Here are three questions to determine which way is best.
When confused at a meeting, butt in
Speaking up in meetings to ask for clarification can be intimidating. But it’s best to summon the courage, especially if you’re the one taking formal minutes or notes. Having a few useful phrases in hand can give you the confidence you need to speak up:
Most meetings end with indecision
Not surprisingly, 85% of executives are dissatisfied with the efficiency and effectiveness of their companies’ meetings, reports Harvard Business Review. Here are two ways to help drive better decision-making during a meeting—and boost your boss’s efficiency:
Closing the loop on minute-taking
The meeting may be over, but the minute-taker’s job goes on. At the group’s next meeting, you may hear corrections to the minutes, says Joan Burge, founder and CEO of Office Dynamics. “Follow the legal requirements of your organization in correcting the minutes,” she says. “If no special requirements are indicated, then follow this procedure”:
Minute-taking: Should I write that down?
You’re taking minutes in a meeting when the conversation suddenly goes off topic. Or two attendees begin to argue. To what extent should you capture the conversation? Joan Burge, founder and CEO of Office Dynamics, offers these tips for turning meeting conversations into a valuable road map—even when the conversation is difficult to track.
10 steps to better minute-taking
Taking minutes wasn’t getting any easier for Terri Michaels, even after years of practice. Finally, she enrolled in a workshop, and things changed. Now she uses these 10 best practices.
‘Power tools’ for your next meeting
At Progress Energy’s quarterly “compliments and concerns” meeting, senior administrative assistant Amy Finelli uses a template for minute taking. As a result, she can quickly send out notes after the meeting “because I don’t have to figure out how to organize the topics,” she says. Here are a few more of Finelli’s power tools for meetings: