By Josh Munane
Over the past 15 years of taking minutes - I have found that 3 simple processes ensure that my minutes are organised and accurately reflect the meeting.
Coloured Pens: OMG! This was a game changer for me, especially at board meetings where multiple people would speak and often all at once! In order to keep track of who was speaking, I would assign each person a colour... (my coloured pen collection has at least 15 different colours maybe more) so that when I would refer to notes I would know that John spoke here (orange) and Judy asked him a question (pink). It saved me a lot of time writing peoples names over and over and over again.
Type your minutes with 4-6 hours: Always do them while they are fresh in your mind. Your recollection of conversations diminishes the longer you leave your notes sitting there, so a quick turnaround not only gets the minutes off your pile of to-do stuff, it also keeps meeting attendees happy because you're efficient.
Compare notes: I found in every meeting, someone else took their own notes and that isn't a slight on you it is a blessing in disguise! If John and Sue were busy disagreeing about the latest budget numbers, you can often miss something because you are focusing on what they are saying so you can get it down. I learnt quickly that asking others for their notes of the meeting will help give a more accurate reflection but may also jog your memory about something you may have missed or forgotten.
Organising yourself is key to being an effective minute taker. Get organised and you will find that it's not all bad!