Efective Minutes Writing – Notes, Notations And Nuances

Too long, too short. Too detailed, too brief. Common frustration from chairpersons and bosses who wonder why their minute-taker just can’t seem to scribe the nice and nuanced touch. This is particular so in the sensitive environment of an organisation where sensitivities and interests of stakeholders are a demanding additional dimension to consider. 

 

OUR TRAINER – note-taker, staff secretary, meeting member and board chairman – has been on both the giving and receiving end of such complaints and compliments in minutes-writing. He has witnessed long meetings where discussions could have filled pages of meaningless minutes, as well as brief meetings where critical comments were discarded. It takes just a day and a minute for this compressed workshop to show you how to write with confidence and clarity; yet not missing a beat in proficiency and professionalism. 

Confusion over past and present tenses, reported speech and attribution and a host of meeting madness will be dealt with using real examples and samples. Minutes need not be boring even if meetings are! And because you come from a sizeable agency, the needs to prepare a meeting well; understand the atmospherics at a meeting; and follow-up duties after the discussion become a key concern for many note takers. This workshop will address all of these issues and provide useful ‘hacks’ to short-cut the tedious process. 

 

Objectives

At the end of the one-day workshop, participants will be able to: 

  1. appreciate the concerns of chairpersons and members;
  2. avoid common errors and blind spots; and
  3. write minutes that are clear and concise.

 

Outline

THE QUALITIES OF A MINUTE-TAKER 

  • before the meeting 
  • during the meeting 
  • after the meeting 

THE QUALITIES OF MINUTES 

  • resolution notetaking 
  • action notetaking 
  • narrative notetaking 

THE QUALITIES OF THE SYSTEMS APPROACH 

  • Practice with Content 
  • Practice with Structure 
  • Practice with Format 
  • Practice with Language 

 

Testimonials

“The knowledge shared in this course is extremely useful for those requiring to write concisely. Would recommend for others to attend.”  

  •  Derek Shen, HIT. Policy and Governance (June 2023) 

“Sunny is a clever writer – knows when to give, when to keep – good for those of us dealing with data overload.”  

  • PUB (Mar 2016) 

 

Who should attend

Secretaries and Staff Officers who write minutes for all kinds of meetings at all levels. Even the occasional note-taker minuting the annual meeting will benefit from the writing pointers shared by our writing coach. 

 

Trainer’s Profile

Sunny is a Trainer of Trainers (TOT) and has taught many writing courses to approach writing in a highly professional way, be it minutes or approval writing. He is currently a board director of five international firms where the art of written communication is a key to winning contracts, customers and confidence. He was a deputy military security chief and head of the International directorate in Mindef’s Defence Policy Office, where chairing meetings and clearing minutes are part of his writing responsibilities. As a former desk editor in The Straits Times, he has trained media practitioners and reporters how to write sharper yet simpler stories, slogans and headlines. He was a member of the SAF Scholars Selection Board and chairman of a university’s Resource Panel. 

As a volunteer, he was a Mediator with the Ministry of Law, a Council Member of the Singapore Red Cross Society and writes regularly on social issues for the local and regional; mainstream and social media.