7.1 Meeting minutes reviewing
Minutes are the official written record of what a meeting discussed and decided. The notes taken during the meeting are rough and written at speed, so they cannot be typed up and circulated as they stand. Reviewing is the first reading of those notes after the meeting, done to find what is missing, unclear or wrong while the discussion is still fresh in your memory. Its purpose is accuracy of content: whether the record says what actually happened. Spelling and layout are polished later, when the minutes are proofread.
Example: the staff welfare committee of a hypothetical flour milling company meets on a Thursday morning. The secretary's notes record that the committee agreed to buy first aid kits for the packing hall, but the notes do not say how many or who will buy them. If this gap is found on the day, a short call to the chairperson can settle it. If it is found two weeks later, nobody may remember.
7.1.1 Steps to follow in reviewing meeting minutes after the meeting
- Review as soon as possible after the meeting, preferably the same day or the next working day, while you can still remember the tone and flow of the discussion.
- Read the whole set of notes once without correcting anything, so that you see the meeting as a connected story and not as separate scraps.
- Compare the notes with the agenda. Check that every agenda item has a record and that the items follow the order in which they were discussed. Mark any item for which there are no notes.
- Check the attendance record against the sign-in sheet. Confirm the names of members present, those who sent apologies and those who were absent, and the correct title of each person.
- Check each decision. It should state what was agreed, who proposed and seconded it where the committee records that, and whether it was carried, defeated or deferred. Check that figures, dates and names in each decision are complete.
- Check each action point. It should show what must be done, who is responsible and by when. Mark any action that lacks an owner or a deadline.
- Remove opinions, side remarks and conversation that is not part of the business, and keep the record neutral and factual. Minutes record what was decided and the main points of discussion, not who said what in every case.
- List every gap, doubt or unclear point on a query sheet, and settle them with the chairperson or the member concerned by a short call or message. Record what they confirm.
- Make a clean working copy that includes the corrections, and keep the original notes until the minutes are signed, in case a point is questioned later.
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Create a free account 🔒7.2 Meeting minutes’ comparison
Comparison means checking your record of the meeting against the records and recollections of the committee executives, usually the chairperson, the vice-chairperson, the secretary and the treasurer. They often keep their own notes or have strong memories of k…
🔒7.3 Procedure for typing the minutes
Typing the minutes turns the confirmed notes into a formal document that members can read, approve and sign. The document follows a fixed order, so that any member can find the title, the attendance, the opening, the previous minutes and each agenda item in th…
🔒7.4 Meeting minutes proofreading
Proofreading is the careful reading of the typed minutes to find and correct errors of language, figures and layout before anyone else sees them. Reviewing checks that the content is right, and proofreading checks that the typed document is clean. Minutes are…
🔒7.5 Minutes draft production and sharing
A draft is a complete version of the minutes that has been reviewed, compared and proofread but has not yet been approved. Producing a draft means finishing the document in a form that can be read and judged, and marking it clearly as a draft so that nobody mi…
🔒7.6 Chairperson’s comments
After reading the draft, the chairperson may suggest changes: a correction to a name or figure, a clearer way of recording a decision, a missing point or the removal of something that should not appear. These comments are a normal and useful part of preparing…
🔒7.7 Signing and circulating minutes
Once the content of the minutes is agreed, they are signed and then sent to the members. Signing turns the document into an official record: the chairperson, and usually the secretary, put their signatures and the date on the final copy. Circulating means gett…
🔒7.8 Signed minutes filing
Signed minutes are important records of any committee, because they prove what was decided and who approved it. Filing them is the last stage of the minutes process: the signed copy is placed in a permanent, orderly, protected record, so that it can be found y…
🔒7.9 Action plan preparation
An action plan is a short working document that turns the decisions in the minutes into tasks: what must be done, by whom, by when and with what resources. The minutes record what was decided, but the action plan is the tool that makes sure it happens. A decis…
