Preparing Minutes of Meetings

Greetings again. I hope you’re doing well.

Last week a postdoctoral fellow suggested that I write something about preparing minutes of committee meetings. He said that as a graduate student he was asked to prepare minutes but didn’t know how to do so.

The minutes of a meeting are a written record of what occurred. I’ve prepared meeting minutes and edited minutes that others have drafted.

Based on my experience, here are some suggestions for preparing minutes:

• Look beforehand at minutes of previous meetings of the committee. You can thus see what format and amount of detail are typical for that committee.
• Of course, take notes at the meeting. If appropriate, perhaps use a voice recorder too.
• Write down the times the meeting began and ended. Include these times in the minutes.
• Note who attended, and list the names in the minutes. To help, perhaps circulate a sign-in sheet.
• Draft the minutes soon after the meeting, while your memory is fresh.
• Write the minutes in chronological order. The minutes should summarize the meeting from beginning to end.
• Include all decisions made. For example, if a vote was taken, state the motion voted on and the numbers of votes.
• Present what happened clearly. Thus, people who missed the meeting can learn what occurred, and the minutes can serve as a record for later use.

The Internet also contains some tips on writing minutes. Although the tips tend to be geared to business settings, many also apply to meetings in research settings.

Wishing you a good week—

Barbara