Writing for Business

9-4c. Minutes of Meetings

summarize the proceedings of meetings. Most businesses post team meeting minutes to

intranet sites soon after the meeting ends. The notes are then accessible to everyone who

attended or who missed the meeting. Companies often use in-house templates for recording

meeting minutes. Formal, traditional minutes, illustrated in Figure 9.9, are written for more formal

meetings and legislative bodies. If you are assigned to take minutes, you will want to follow this

general pattern:

Begin with the name of the group, as well as the date, time, and place of the meeting.

Identify the names of attendees and absentees.

State whether the previous minutes were approved or revised.

Record briefly the discussions of old business, new business, announcements, and committee

reports.

Include the precise wording of motions; record the votes and actions taken.

Conclude with the name of the person recording the minutes. Formal minutes may require a

signature.

Book Title: eTextbook: Essentials of Business Communication 9-4. Preparing Short Informational Reports 9-4c. Minutes of Meetings

Minutes

Figure 9.9.

Formal Meeting Minutes