7 Top Tips for Taking and Transcribing Minutes

As an administrator or PA, you can sometimes be asked to take the minutes in meetings and afterwards transcribe them. It can be a daunting task if you are inexperienced or lack confidence.

1. Arrive Early – Get to the meeting room before the others, make sure your note area is prepared, so that you are ready to get started as soon as the meeting begins.
2. Put a Name to Each Face – Make sure you can put a name (correctly spelled) to each face so that you know straightaway who is speaking. Use initials of speakers in the margin to the left-hand side of your notes to save time.
3. Maintain Confidentiality – Many meetings include confidential items, so it is important to always maintain the confidentiality of your minutes.
4. Be Diplomatic – Sometimes, feelings can run high especially if the topic is an emotional one, people can say things in the heat of the moment, try and be as diplomatic as possible when taking minutes on heated discussions.   
5. What format to use – We would recommend that you use the following format for your minutes, and ideally using a branded template:

• The name of the meeting
• The date, time and location of the meeting
• The attendees
• The apologies
• The name of the minute taker
• Each of the agenda items underlined and listed with details on what was decided, what was accomplished and the action points to take forward (with the initials of the person responsible for the action).
• Actions carried forward from previous meeting
• Any other business
• The date of the next meeting

6. Record it– If you are worried about being able to keep up with note taking, consider recording the meeting, don’t forget to let participants know they are being recorded.

7. Be proactive – Try and get the minutes typed up as soon as possible, this will ensure that you do not forget certain parts of the meeting and that you can decipher what you meant in your notes.

Fingertips Typing Services offers transcription services, so if you have recorded the minutes and want to free up your time so that you can focus on more important aspects of your role then we can help you.

To contact us, please call 0845 300 5245 or email us at info@fintertipstyping.co.uk