5 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Meeting Minutes

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✍️ Author: Varuna Raghav

Tips For Writing Effective Meeting Minutes

“One of the greatest failures of every generation is that it refuses to read the minutes of the last meeting.” – David A. Noebel, American Evangelist

It shows how important Minutes of Meetings (MOM) are to help companies make decisions and communicate at strategic moments. If done correctly, your minutes will have moved the action forward. Without them, it would be harder for you to keep your projections and deadlines within reach for the entire team–not to mention how long it takes to reschedule!

It’s not always easy, but these five key mistakes can sabotage your best work.

Why is the Minute of Meetings Important?

The minutes of the meeting are an important part of any organization. It is a chance for everyone involved in the meeting to get their ideas and concerns aired out and to make sure that the meeting proceeds as planned. However, poorly written meeting minutes or neglected minutes can lead to negative consequences. If one does not know how to write and keep detailed records, mistakes or oversights can be made pertaining to important topics that were discussed.

Minutes of meetings should be meticulously planned and written down so that all participants know what was discussed and what was decided. They should also be carefully edited to ensure that all information is accurate and concise. If the minutes are done correctly, they will help to ensure that meetings proceed smoothly and without any problems.

The purpose of the minutes of meetings is to record the events of a meeting. The minutes of the meetings will include the date, the time, the attendees, the location of the meeting, the names of the presenters, the agenda of the meeting, the outcome of the meeting, the action items, and the next meeting date. The minute of meetings is a very important document for future reference. It will help to remind you of what was discussed during the meeting, what action items were decided, who is responsible for the action items, who attended the meeting, who are the presenters, what is the agenda of the meeting, and what was the outcome of the meeting.

5 things you should NEVER do when writing minutes of meetings:

Do not write minutes that are biased or inaccurate
Do not omit important information
Do not use filler words
Do not use excessive bureaucratic language
Do not use unprofessional language
Do not write minutes that are biased or inaccurate:

Be sure to write the minutes of your meetings accurately and objectively, making sure you do not commit any blunders. This will surely lead to a powerful business decision.

First, write down a list of all the things that were said by each participant. Next, paraphrase any ambiguous statements using your own words so that they are easy to understand.
- Don’t be afraid to edit people’s sentences: If a phrase you heard is too long, break it up and let the sentence flow better.
- After you have done these first two steps, ask yourself: Do these minutes state what happens in a way that our company can use? ‘Does the reader know why every decision was made?’
- Do we need to do anything about it?.’If so, rewrite as necessary. If not, check off this task as completed!
- Last but not least, summarize from top to bottom. This will ensure that you have covered everything necessary for your meeting minutes.
- You can also use video recordings or presentations to help remember important details.
Do not omit important information:

It’s important to include all the relevant information in your minutes of meetings. This way, you will get to identify how the meeting went-what key points were discussed and agreed on, what problems were occurring, and where follow-up action is required.

If anything new occurs that wasn’t noted in the meeting summary, you may have missed an important piece of information from your colleagues whose expertise or insights can be beneficial towards helping solve a specific problem or issue that’s been brought up in both meetings and informal discussions. It’s crucial to stay updated with what’s going on to prevent further misunderstandings.
Do not use filler words:

Minutes of meetings should be concise and to the point – even if it might take you longer initially to gather your thoughts and keep them sorted out like an intricate puzzle. You should also be wary about any filler words or phrases that do not contribute anything relevant towards the understanding of what is being discussed in the said meeting.
Do not use excessive bureaucratic language:

Minutes of meetings should be written in a way that is easy for people to understand. Do not use unnecessary jargon and try to describe everything in the most basic and direct manner.
Do not use unprofessional language:

Be sure to use professional language when writing minutes of meetings. Use terminology that is common among professionals, and you will be able to produce minutes that are respected by your colleagues.

Quick five checkpoints:

MOM should be written at the end of the meeting, not before or during the meeting.
Meeting minutes should be prepared by the meeting leader and should be spell and grammar checked.
In the MOM, the meeting leader should include a few main ideas, the main decisions made, and actions to be taken.
MOM should be prepared by the leader and should be written in his/her handwriting.
MOM should be shared with the attendees within the next 24 hours after the meeting.

The suggested format for Minutes of Meeting:

When writing the minutes of a meeting, it is important to follow a suggested format. The following are suggested minutes formats:

Start with the date, time, and place of the meeting.
State who attended and what was discussed.
Record decisions made and actions taken.

Check out this Minutes of Meeting template and customize it to meet your needs!

The bottom line:

MOMs are a great tool to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page and understand what has been discussed in a meeting. MOMs are also a great way to help coordinate the next steps and are a great tool to help organize their communication. We hope you found this blog post to be helpful, if you have any questions about the Minute of Meetings, please contact us anytime at +919643303884.

FREE TEMPLATE

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Author Profile

Varuna Raghav

As a CX and marketing specialist, Varuna Raghav has more than 15+ years of experience in her name. Her enriching input has been valuable to the brands and organizations she's worked with.

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