Summary

• 1 day

• 9.30 am–5.00 pm

• Small groups

• Certificates

• A year of free support

• £395.00 + VAT

• A 20% discount is available to charities and local authorities

Stephen Lloyd was nominated for the LETG “Trainer of the Year” Award 2008.

Locations and dates

Morning session

• Introduction

  • The purpose of notes or minutes

  • The role of the minute taker

  • The key skills of the minute taker

  • How to make sure the minutes are useful

• Understanding the meeting

  • The different types of meeting

  • The purpose of the meeting

  • How the purpose affects the minutes

  • Differences between internal and external meetings

  • The terminology of meetings, agendas and minutes

• Before the meeting

  • What type of notes or minutes?

  • What style of writing?

  • How much detail?

• Working with the chair

  • The role of the chair

  • The relationship between the chair and the minute taker

• Writing and using the agenda

  • Understanding the purpose of an agenda

  • How to lay out an agenda

  • Deciding on depth of detail

  • Clearing the agenda with the chair

  • When and how to distribute the agenda

• Best practice in taking notes and minutes

  • Developing listening skills

  • Being selective and identifying key points

  • Sorting the information effectively

  • Using abbreviations

  • Asking for clarification

• Exercises and feedback

Afternoon session

• Writing up the notes or minutes

  • When to write the notes or minutes

  • Thinking about the needs of the readers

  • Structuring effectively

  • Formatting and following conventions

  • Summarising and paraphrasing

  • Using bullet lists

  • Making the action points clear

• Developing the right tone and using professional language

  • What can go wrong

  • How to avoid the pitfalls

  • Using plain English

• Overcoming the passive voice

  • The difference between active and passive

  • Why the active is usually best

  • When to use the passive

  • Practising turning passive into active

• Avoiding common mistakes

  • Easily confused and misused words

  • Getting the grammar right

  • Punctuating minutes accurately

• Conclusions

  • A review of key techniques and top tips

• Exercises and feedback