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The Art of Writing Minutes

As organisers and leaders of meetings, we understand that meetings would be effective when the agenda justifies the purpose of the meeting and with the necessary people. Effective minute taking can only be achieved if they are well planned, organized and followed-up on all decisions and commitments.

An interactive learning programme using a combination of lectures, exercises and group discussion to discuss the various skills such as listening, writing and note-taking that are needed to write the minutes of meeting.

Objective

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Manage secretarial responsibilities for productive meetings.
• Apply procedures for proper preparation for a meeting.
• Use principles and techniques of minutes taking to record proceedings of meetings accurately.
• Distinguish relevant from irrelevant points.
• Recognise definite decisions made and actions required.
• Exercise sensitivity in the writing process.
• Give assistance and support to the chairman effectively.
• Understand group dynamics and synergy at meetings.

Outline

Part One: Before the Meeting

• What are minutes? types of minutes.
• Business meeting buzzwords and terms.
• Meeting documents - notice of meeting, agenda, chairman’s agenda, previous minutes, proxy instrument, attendance register, reports, etc.
• Prepare note-taking forms.

Part Two: During the Meeting

• Listening comprehension and note-taking skills.
• Know how to identify importance of business transacted at meetings, emphasize coverage in minutes presentation and seek clarification from speakers.
• Observe mistakes and problems encountered at meetings and minutes presentation.

Part Three: After the Meeting

• Writing skills using the 4 C’s - clear, concise, courteous and correct.
• Minutes of meeting format and organisational structure.
• Language/grammar discussion / Reported speech / tenses & subject verb agreement/ subjunctive/ infinitive/ active vs. passive voice.
• Post mortem of meeting, follow-up action and summary.

Methodology

Testimonials

Achieved the outcome I wish to address when I signed up. Good workshop, learned new things to apply at work. The trainer is very interactive, able to use her experience and make the class more fun.
Republic Polytechnic

Ms Carol speaks very fast surprisingly, i find myself paying 100% attention to her in order to keep up. It's a good thing!
Singapore University of Social Sciences

I've definitely gained valuable skills from the course.The workshop is very useful. Trainer is very engaging and kept me focused in the class, it is also an enjoyable course.
Singapore Police Force

Caroline knows the style of Singapore trainees very well, she provided many practical templates that I could use during my everyday work, very useful and provided many relevant good references and practice during the training.
Heraeus Materials Singapore Pte Ltd

The trainer is eloquent and with strong language profiency.
National Youth Council Singapore

Trainer is structured in her delivery of the content. The practical tips were shared with effectiveness. The course is full scored!
Ministry of Education

It is very clear on what should be included in the minutes. The trainer is very knowledgeable to this subject.
National Environment Agency

A charismatic trainer!
Times Publishing Limited

Very engaging, approachable, made workshop interesting!
Parliament of Singapore

Taught very clearly and volume controlled well!
Singapore Discovery Centre Ltd

Profile of Caroline Josephine Dawson

Caroline Josephine Dawson has more than 20 years of invaluable experience as an Editor of lifestyle and technical publications and 17 years teaching business management, environmental and soft-skills communication.

As a former journalist, Caroline’s professional work experience as a Corporate Trainer/Facilitator, Keynote Speaker and Learning & Development Consultant; has required her to market the value of her programs and persuade clients to value and understand the urgency of good communication and management skills in the work force. As an ACTA certified WSQ trainer, She has also worked with the Workforce Development Agency of Singapore to develop training content for the Employability Skills System where she successfully attained industry approved competencies in conducting, planning and designing competency based assessments for communication workshops.

Her many opportunities in working with the public and private sectors around the world has enhanced her training experience. Participants of her training workshops attest to her motivational, instructional and highly experiential training methodology that have helped them in their workplace business management. Caroline has trained operational, supervisory and managerial staff from various organisations.

She holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from NTU (Singapore) and has attained the Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certification through the London Teacher Training College and also teaches English as a foreign language. Caroline is also an MBTI®, DISC Accredited Administrator, Enneagram and Lumina Spark/Emotion practitioner and she has administered the tools to top level managers and supervisors on managing their leadership styles and team members. Caroline is now pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Teesside (UK).