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Minutes Writing - Getting it Just Right!

Too long, too short. Too detailed, too brief. Common frustration from chairpersons and bosses who wonder why their minute-takers just can’t seem to scribe the nice and nuanced touch. This is particular so in the sensitive environment of formal organizations, be it government, corporate or private firms where sensitivities and interests of stakeholders are a demanding additional dimension to consider.

DR SUNNY GOH - note-taker, staff secretary, meeting member and board chairman - has been on both the giving and receiving end of such complaints and compliments in his career. He has witnessed long meetings where discussions could have filled pages of meaningless minutes, as well as brief meetings where critical comments were discarded. It takes just a day and a minute for this compressed workshop to show you how to write with confidence and clarity; yet not missing a beat in proficiency and professionalism.

Confusion over past and present tenses, reported speech and attribution and a host of meeting madness will be dealt with using real examples and samples. Minutes need not be boring even if meetings are!

And because you come from a formal organization, the needs to prepare a meeting well; understand the atmospherics at a meeting; and follow-up duties after the discussion become a key concern. This workshop will address all of these intricate issues and provide useful ’hacks’ to short-cut the process. Minute down the dates for the workshop now!

Objective

At the end of the one-day workshop, participants will be able to:

• appreciate the concerns of chairpersons and members;
• avoid common errors and blind spots;
• write minutes that are clear and concise.

Outline

"Just a minute!"

The Qualities of a Minute-taker:
- before the meeting
- during the meeting
- after the meeting

The Qualities of Minutes:
- resolution notetaking
- action notetaking
- narrative notetaking

The Qualities of the Systems Approach
- Practice with Content
- Practice with Structure
- Practice with Format
- Practice with Language

"It’s a wrap!"

Who should attend

Confidential secretaries and staff officers who write minutes for all kinds of meetings at all levels. Even the occasional note-taker minuting an ad-hoc committee session will benefit from the writing pointers shared by our writing coach.

Testimonials

I half expect the course to be boring, and the other half to be difficult. Sunny made both ends meaningful.
PA

Sunny made technical writing look easy. Not an easy task when we have too much info and too little space.
Chapman International

Sunny is a clever writer - knows when to give, when to keep - good for those of us dealing with data overload.
PUB

Ours is a fast-paced corporate firm but Sunny’s insights make even the most tedious of meeting documentation a meaningful and enriching process.
UOB

- The trainer shared practical points on minute writing which are very relevant and useful
Previous participant

- The trainer is very knowledgeable and enjoying his humor makes the class fun and interesting
Ministry of Manpower

- Learnt many useful examples and tips which can be applied at work.

- Very knowledgeable on the subject, could answer all questions from the participants.

- Interactive, gave lots of real-life examples to get us engaged

Particular of Dr. Sunny Goh

Dr Sunny Goh is a Trainer of Trainers (TOT) and has taught many writing coaches to teach writing programmes he has designed for government servants and private sector officers. He was head of the International directorate in Mindef's Defence Policy Office, where he has written Cab Memos, budget papers and presented Singapore’s position at international fora. He was a member of the SAF Scholars Selection Board and chairman of a university’s Resource Panel.

He was also a Desk Editor at The Straits Times, where he taught reporting and interviewing skills at its School of Journalism. In all, his participants had included CEOs, professors, staff writers, technical specialists, undergraduates and students. It doesn’t matter how high a participant’s work status may be - all that mattered is a penchant for learning.

As a volunteer, he was a Mediator with the Ministry of Law, a Council Member of the Singapore Red Cross Society and writes regularly for the local and regional media. And, oh yes, he was co-founder of an attractive English Premier League supporters club in Singapore that neither don red nor blue.