MINUTES OF MEETING HOW MINUTES SHOULD BE PRESENTED

MINUTES OF MEETING

HOW MINUTES SHOULD BE PRESENTED Title Includes the date, time and venue - Example: minutes of the meeting of the Finance Department held on Tuesday, 13 th December 2009, at 3 p. m. in Room 42, Company House. Attendance - Present and absent -

The body of the minutes - Written in reported speech using past tense. The ending: the meeting adjourned at 4 p. m.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT HELD ON TUESDAY, 13 TH DECEMBER 2009, AT 3 P. M. IN ROOM 42, COMPANY HOUSE. ATTENDANCE: NO Details MEETING ADJOURNED AT 2. 00 PM Person In charge

WHAT IS REPORTED SPEECH Ali said, “ I don’t know the exact number of fatalities this month”. (direct speech) Ali said that he did not know the exact number of fatalities for that month/ November. (reported speech) Ahmad said, “ I have 20 years experience in this job”. Ahmad said that he had 20 years experience as an auditor.

PREPARING MINUTES OF MEETING Body of the Minutes Use the Reported Speech and the Past Tense 1. Clara said, “ I think Pulau Redang is an excellent place to hold team-building workshops because it offers great and affordable team-building packages. We should have our workshop there. ” 2. Clara proposed that the team-building workshop at Pulau Redang because of the great and affordable team-building packages offered.

ACTIVITY TIME He explained, “ the number of fatalities is quite small”. Ms Lee said, “ I don’t agree with the proposed changes”. Mr Tan said, “ I inspected the equipment last week”.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN MINUTES? • Committee’s name • Date of meeting • Names of committee members present • Summary of major points made in reports and discussions • Attachments of documents relevant to the committee’s discussions • Follow-up summary: who agreed to do what

WHAT TO AVOID? • Point-by-point account of discussions • Reports on off-track discussions • Optional items that could embarrass someone

WHAT TO WRITE? The following example shows part of a discussion held in a meeting. Mr Kamal is chairing the meeting with his staff to discuss ways to strengthen relationships among members of staff.

Mr Kamal : so what activities do you think that the department could conduct to encourage bonding among the staff members? Rozi Mariam : it would be good to hold games every week or so. : yes I agree to that. Do you remember last year’s company seminar game in Pangkor? Anita and Sharul were at oddswith one another. After three days of team games, they were best of friends. I heard that they are going out together now, right? Mr kamal : Hmmm… I don’t know. But anyway, what other activities can we think of?