ENGLISH FOR

COMMUNICATION II
PBI10202
WEEK 9
Meetings (Post Meeting)
▪ Minutes of Meeting
▪ Writing Minutes
MEETINGS

THREE MAIN STAGES OF MEETINGS

Generally, there are three (3) main stages to a meeting. For each stage, there are significant
elements and components that need to be taken into proper consideration;
2.1 Pre-Meeting,
2.2 During the meeting, and
2.3 Post Meeting.

Prepare for the Meeting

- setting up the venue, materials needed, food and drinks (if needed)
Pre-Meeting

Distribute the Minutes for the Previous Meeting (if available)

Distribute the Agenda for the Upcoming Meeting

Send Notice to Call for a Meeting- Memos / E-mail / Letter

Begin the Meeting on Time

- start with the meeting purpose

Quick Review and Confirm the Minutes of Previous Meeting

During the Meeting

Deal with Matters Arising

- review follow-up assignments from previous meeting

Review / Discuss / Co-Determine New Matters

- referring to the items in the agenda

Agree on Assignments Given and the Person in Charge

- make a record to be brought in the next meeting

Review Any Other Business & Do 'Round the Table' Assessment

- keep it short, 15 - 30 seconds per individual

End the Meeting on Time with a Final Summary

- Discuss details for the next meeting (e.g.: date, time, venue, etc.)
Meeting

Do 'Follow-up' Assignments Given from the Previous Meeting

- avoid procrastination and complete the task as soon as possible
Post

Distribute the Minutes of Meeting and Gather Data Required for the
Upcoming Meeting (if needed)

1 INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

 POST MEETING

After the meeting has ended, the first thing the secretary should think about is writing the
minutes of the meeting. The secretary can either write the minutes as the meeting happens if
he/she is a fast typist or do it once the meeting is adjourned/over, while everything is still
fresh in their minds. It is always better to write the minutes as soon as possible. The sooner
they are done, the more accurate they are.

1.PREPARING THE MINUTES

Stages in Preparing the Minutes

There are a few stages that can be referred to when preparing the minutes. Below are the
stages:

Clarifying
Typing out
(If necessary)
Pre-typing Editing and
reviewing

Storing or filing Getting

Sharing
approval

Description for each stage:

STAGE Description

• Review the notes or the outlines made and add additional

comments or notes given
• Check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are clearly
1. Pre-typing noted
• Clarify what is not understood right after the meeting
• Write number the pages of the notes in order to avoid confusion
afterwards
MEETINGS

• When typing out the minutes;

o make sure the flow is good
o be concise and accurate
o use of appropriate tenses throughout the minutes
o be objective, do not include any subjective opinion
o focus on the action items, NOT the discussion
▪ Why? Because the purpose of having the minutes is to
record the actions to be taken by whom and when
• The details that are necessary to be included in the minute:
o Name of the organisation/committee/institution
o Type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special)
o Objective(s) of the meeting
o Time the meeting begins and ends
o List of attendees
2. Typing out ▪ clearly state the chairman/chairperson and the secretary
o List of absentees
o List of agenda covered
o Indicate the names who propose and second the previous
minutes of meeting as a true record
o A record of the important points discussed and decisions
taken for each item in the agenda
o State the names who are responsible for follow-up actions
o Any other business that is noteworthy for future reference
o “Prepared by,”, the secretary’s name, “Approved by” and the
chairperson’s name are stated at the end
of the minutes
o The date the secretary and the
chairperson signed the minutes and their
position are recorded
o Attachments (If applicable)

• If the minute taker is unsure or if there’s an error in the notes,

Clarifying (If make the corrections quickly.
3.
necessary)
o How? By asking the chairperson or talking to other members.

• The minutes need to be edited and reviewed.

o How? By asking the chairperson or someone else who
attended the meeting to review them for
Editing and errors.
4.
reviewing • Why?
o To make sure nothing is left out.
o To ensure brevity and clarity.
o To ensure the minutes are easy to be read.

3 INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

 • After the review, the minutes should be submitted to the
chairperson or the person who ran the meeting for approval,
UNLESS instructed otherwise.
Getting
5.
approval • Why?
o To check for errors
o To ensure accuracy and perfection

• The role of a minute taker includes distribution of the minutes.

o Send the final copy of the minutes to members within 24
hours of the meeting.
o Why?
▪ To remind of the commitments made during the meeting
Sharing the ▪ To inform the absentees of what happened and their
6. commitments (as agreed by the members of the meeting)
Minutes
▪ To Help attendees and absentees transfer the
commitments to their calendars and to-do lists
o How?
▪ Hardcopies/Softcopies
▪ Online sharing (e.g. Google Docs, Google Drive or
Dropbox)

• The minutes need to be kept and stored for future reference.

• How?
o Hardcopies (Minutes book/Files – storage)
Storing or o Online sharing (e.g. Google Docs, Google Drive or Dropbox)
7. filing the o External drive
minutes • Reminder
o Minutes are the property of the organisation, NOT the
secretary. Hence, an official copy of the minutes should be
kept at the office.

Reminders
✓ Do it as soon as possible because everything is still fresh in everyone’s
mind
✓ It is not necessary to write the minutes in the actual chronological order
of the discussion
✓ A short statement of each action taken and a brief explanation of the
rationale for the decision may be included
✓ Summarize only major arguments (if there is extensive deliberation or
discussion)
MEETINGS

2. TIPS ON WRITING MINUTES

Be sure your notes • When was the meeting?

and minutes
answer these 10 • Who attended?
main questions: • Who did not attend? (Include this
information if it matters)
• 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 there anything special the reader of the
minutes should know or do?
• Is a follow-up meeting scheduled? If so,
when? Where? Why?

5 INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

3. DO’S AND DON’TS IN MEETINGS

DO’s
- Review the outline written during minutes taking.
- Add additional notes or clarify points raised.
- Check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are
clearly noted.
- Write minutes as soon as possible, after the meeting
- Keep the minutes short and straight to the point.
- Write using appropriate tenses throughout the minutes
- Use plain English

DON’Ts
- Include inflammatory or personal observations (e.g.
heated debate, invaluable comments).
- Write people’s names except when they suggest new
motions or second the motions.
- Skip writing minutes just because everyone attended
the meeting and knows what happened.
- Describe all the "he said, she said" details unless those
details are very important.
- Include any information that will embarrass anyone
(e.g. Then Terry left the room in tears).
- Include motions that are withdrawn/rejected.
MEETINGS

4. LANGUAGE OF MEETING DOCUMENTS

Should be written
using appropriate
tenses throughout
the minutes

Commonly written
in past tense

Use plain and

straight forward
language

7 INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

5. LAYOUT OF MINUTES

• Name of the organisation/committee/institution

• Type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special)
• Objective(s) of the meeting
Preliminary
• Time the meeting began and ended.
• List of attendees needs to be in alphabetical order
o clearly state the chairman/chairperson and the secretary
• List of absentees needs to be in alphabetical order

• Agenda items covered

• A statement to approve the previous minutes of meeting and
any matters arising from those minutes
Body
• Indication of the names who propose and second the
previous minutes of meeting as a true record
• State the names who are responsible for follow-up actions
• Any other business that is noteworthy for future reference

• State the hour of adjournment

• “Prepared by,”, the secretary’s name, “Approved by” and the
Closing chairperson’s name are stated at the end of the minutes
• The date the secretary and the chairperson signed the
minutes and their position are recorded
• Attachments (If applicable)