Meetings
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, student should be able to:
• Purpose and types of meetings
• Key roles of members
• Key documents
Meeting
• A meeting is a gathering of two or more people that has been
convened for the purpose of achieving a common goal through verbal
interaction, such as sharing information or reaching agreement.
Purpose of Meetings
Put forward
Report on an
Coordinate and ideas/express
activity or
arrange activities grievances for
experience
discussion
Create
Give information
Obtain assistance involvement and
to a group
interest
Types of Meeting
Company
Meeting
Shareholder’s Directors Special
Meeting Meeting Meeting
Annual Extraordinary
Statutory Board Committee Creditor’s
General General Class Meeting
Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting
Meeting Meeting
Key Roles of Members
Key Documents
Notices
Before
Agendas
Documents
Minutes of
After
Meeting
Notices and Agendas
What is a notice?
Step 1: Notify the meeting participants of an upcoming meeting
• Examples:
• Email
• Memo
• Poster
• Letter
• Personal communication
• Contains:
• Date, time, location of the meeting
• Brief description of what topics will be covered or information about what
participants should prepare for the meeting
Agenda: A Meeting Outline
• Step two: create an agenda for your meeting
• Why?
• Provides a list of topics for discussion
• Assigns a presenter or discussion leader for each topic
• Provides a structure for the meeting (length of time)
• Can be used as a checklist to ensure all information is covered
• Gives participants an opportunity to come to the meeting prepared for
upcoming discussions or decisions
• Increases engagement and motivation from your colleagues as well as
accountability to the objectives of the meeting
Good Agenda Items
• Specific
• Results oriented
• Timed
• Realistic
Specific, results-oriented, timed, realistic
• Brainstorm new items for bulletin (10 min)
• Choose the logo for the website (15 min)
• Update team members on budget (6 min)
Agenda must haves
(formal meetings)
• Company name
• Committee name
• Notice (states time, place, and location of meeting)
• Word “Agenda”
• Apologies for absence
• Minutes of last meeting
• Matters arising
• (chairman’s report)
• (OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION)
• Any other business
• Date of the next meeting
• Initials and date
Notices and agendas: Are they really that
different?
• Think of them like this:
• Notice: an entry in your calendar
• Agenda: an outline for a meeting
• Sometimes you can send them out at the same time, but you should
always offer your meeting participants agendas at the meeting.
Minutes of Meeting
Why Minutes?
• Why should we write up minutes after a meeting?
• Provide a record for participants
• Keep people accountable for duties assigned/deadlines
• Share information for those unable to attend
Types of Minutes
Verbatim
Minutes of Meeting
• Primarily used in court reporting
where every word matters Verbatim
Resolution
• Main conclusions are recorded Resolution
Narration
• Concise summary of discussions, Narration
reports, actions, and decisions
Good Meeting Minutes
• Complete
• Detailed and concise
• Action items that tell us
• What
• Who
• When
Sample Minutes
• Format:
• Depends on company; example shown in class is a popular example
• Including an “action” column helps you keep track of who is in charge of what
job
• Writing:
• Written in 3rd person, reported speech
Main Parts of Meeting Minutes
• Heading—The name of the committee, date, location, and starting
time of the meeting.
• Participants—The name of the person conducting the meeting along
with the names of all those who attended the meeting (including
guests) and those who were excused from attending.
• Approval of previous minutes–A note on whether the minutes of the
previous meeting were approved and whether any corrections were
made.
• Action items–A report on each topic discussed at the meeting. This
can include unfinished business from the previous meeting. (For each
item, note the subject of the discussion, the name of the person who
led the discussion, and any decisions that may have been reached.)
• Announcements–A report on any announcements made by
participants, including proposed agenda items for the next meeting.
• Next Meeting—A note on where and when the next meeting will be
held.
• Adjournment—A note on the time the meeting ended.
• Signature line—The name of the person who prepared the minutes
and the date they were submitted.
