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Time flies! It is almost two month since I came to this company. After two month’s hard work, I have learned a lot and got some working experience in doing business and in writing business letters.

Pleasant news for me is that there is an important sales meeting tomorrow morning, and the chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Johnson Lee asked me to attend the meeting and write the minutes. I’m very happy and very surprised! I almost can’t believe that the chairman will ask me to attend the meeting!

To tell you the truth, I don’t like meetings; I think attending meetings means more work, as I have to prepare all the documents before the meetings, and what’s more, I have to write the minutes. But this time I don’t think so. I think it’s an honor!

I seldom talked with Mr. Johnson Lee; he is a very strict person in my mind. As for minutes writing, this time, he is also as strict as usual. He insists on all the points mentioned at the meeting instead of just the main points. But I’m not a transcriber, how can I write so fast to take down every word? How can I accomplish this honorable and hard task? I’m at a loss.

We are very glad to see Cindy’s progress. After two months’ practice, she knows how to write effective business letters. She learns a lot from her work and her ability is highly appreciated by her leaders. So this time the chairman asked her to attend such an important meeting!

As this time the minutes writing is important to Cindy, she should make full preparations for it. Minutes does not allow personal creation. An accurate written record of meetings is essential not only for all those who attended the meeting but also for those who were unable to attend.

A good minutes is an objective record of the major points of a discussion and every decision made at a meeting. Opinions and comments are open only to people who attend the meeting instead of a secretary who takes minutes during the meeting. She has to take down what the meeting participants said instead of making her voice heard. But she does not necessarily have to take down every word said at the meeting as a recorder will do. In this sense, it does not matter if she could not write like a transcriber. What really count are the key words of each point.

As minutes is a record of what has taken place, it should be written in past tense using the third person and reported speech.

Minutes of meetings form a historical record of a group’s work. They serve as a record of decisions and details when people’s memories fail or when they disagree. They remind people of assignments they’ve taken on and deadlines they need to meet. They inform those not present of what happened at the meeting. They give future members of the organization a way to build on past successes and avoid reinventing the wheel.

Minutes are not just a repetition of what was said in a meeting. Minutes must reflect the significance of different speakers’ contributions in the meeting. Therefore, the minutes-taker must understand not only what the speaker said, but also what they meant.

The minutes of a meeting should include the following three parts:

● name of the organization and/or the meeting

● date, time and place of the meeting

● name of the presiding person

● nature of the meeting (a regular meeting or a special meeting discussing a specific problem )

This part usually consists of the following information:

● list of people attending, and any members who were absent

● a statement that the minutes of the previous meeting were approved or revised

● a list of reports that were read and approved

● all the motions that were made

● a full description of the resolutions that were adopted and a simple statement of any that was rejected

● a record of the ballots cast for and against the resolutions

● time, date and place of next meeting

● time of adjournment

● each of the items may stand alone as a paragraph

At the end of the minutes give the name of person taking the minutes, the title and signature. Officially the date is also given here though it has ever appeared in the heading.

Keep minutes brief and to the point.

Give complete information on each topic discussed at the meeting.

Transcribe motions word for word.

Summarize what occurs and paraphrase discussions.

Use headings and subheadings to categorize each major section, for example, Discussion, Action Taken.

Avoid abstractions and generalities. Be specific.

Avoid adjectives and adverbs that suggest good or bad qualities, keeping minutes as objective as possible.

Use the passive voice to describe the events and change participants’ informal words into formal words.

You work as a junior secretary for Priory Curtis Electrical Suppliers on 32 Priory Road, Swindon SN3 SLX. At a recent sales meeting, people in the sales department discussed how the customers pay their bills. Write a minutes according to the following record of the dialogue at the meeting.

Douglas Carver: Good morning, everyone. Last week, we did a very nice job in sales. But there is a payment problem. In the past week, we found a lot of customers failed to pay us in a proper way. I think we shall send a leaflet to all our customers to tell them how. What do you think?

Elizabeth Drucker: Yes, I agree. I suggest we can also have some leaflets at the Customer Counter for clients who prefer to come to the shop rather than to order by phone.

Jack Porter: Yes. They can pay by cash, if they shop in person at one of our stores. Tell them that they must not send cash by post.

Elizabeth Drucker: Most of the wholesale clients have an account with us and pay monthly by check. They sometimes forget to write their account number on the back of the check. It can be a problem. I shall remind them tactfully.

Douglas Carver: You can also tell them that we expect payment within 10 days of their receiving the bill or statement of account.

Elizabeth Drucker: Do you want me to be tactful about that too?

Jon White Bear: It would probably be wise! By the way, do not forget to tell them they can also pay by credit or debit card.

Jack Porter: If they wish to pay by telephoning us to give us their card details, we shall need the expiry date as well as the card number... and their Priory Curtis account number.

Douglas Carver: Yes, that’s very important too! That’s good enough for this topic. By the way, I heard Sheila Anderson’s husband is ill and in the hospital, is that true?

Elizabeth Drucker: Yes, that’s why Sheila is absent today. She asked for a leave to accompany her husband. I suggest we sent a gift to the hospital.

Douglas Carver: That’s fine. OK, it is 11:30 now. Let’s stop here. Same time next week, we are going to discuss the budget of the new project...

1. Be clear about who are present and who are absent.

2. Use names and titles to refer to people consistently and avoid suggesting deference to a certain participant unintentionally.

3. Be impartial and objective. As a note-taker you are not in charge of the meeting, the chairperson is. Your focus must be on capturing the discussion of the meeting, not on leading the discussion.

4. Keep your minutes brief and to the point. The minutes of a meeting should be a snapshot（简介）of discussions and decisions. An effective minutes-taking does not mean you are recording every word that was said, since this could lead to missing important points.

5. Use the passive voice to describe the events and change participants’ informal words into formal words.

Before the meeting, gather as much information as you can from the host. Ask for a list of attendees, as well as some information on the purpose of the meeting. This way you won’t need to scramble to understand what’s going on while you’re recording notes.

Create a template for recording your meeting minutes and make sure you leave some blank space to record your notes. Include the following information:

Date and time of the meeting

The purpose of the meeting

The meeting lead or chair’s name

Assigned action items

Decide how you want to record your notes. If you aren’t comfortable relying on your pen and notepad, try using a tape recorder or, if you’re a fast typist, take a laptop to the meeting.

As people enter the room, check off their names on your attendee list. Ask the meeting lead to introduce you to meeting attendees you aren’t familiar with. This will be helpful later when you are recording assigned tasks or decisions.

Don’t try to record notes verbatim-it’s not necessary. Minutes are meant to give an outline of what happened at the meeting, not a record of who said what. Focus on understanding what’s being discussed and on recording what’s been assigned or decided on.

Record action items and decisions in your template as they happen—don’t wait until after the meeting to pull those out of your notes or you could make a mistake. If you don’t understand exactly what decision has been made or what action has been assigned, ask the meeting lead to clarify.

Review the notes and add additional comments, or clarify what you didn’t understand right after the meeting. Do this while the information is fresh in everyone’s mind. Type your notes out in the template you created before the meeting—this will make the notes easier for everyone to read and use.

When you’re writing out your notes, use some of the following tips as a reference:

Focus on action items, not discussion. The purpose of minutes is to define decisions made and to record what actions are to be taken, by whom and when.

Be objective. Write in the same tense throughout and avoid using people’s names except for motions or seconds. This is a business document, not about who said what.

Avoid inflammatory or personal observations. The fewer adjectives or adverbs you use, the better. Dull writing is the key to appropriate minutes.

If you need to refer to other documents, attach them in an appendix or indicate where they may be found. Don’t rewrite their intent or try to summarize them.

When you finish typing the minutes, ask the meeting lead to review the document for errors. Send the final copy of the minutes to attendees right away. Keep a copy of the notes (and the template) for yourself in case someone wants to review them later. Recording meeting minutes ensures that the decisions and actions resulting from a meeting aren’t lost or forgotten.

Guidelines for Note-taking

1. Concentrate on the lecture or on the reading material.

2. Take notes consistently.

3. Take notes selectively. Do NOT try to write down every word. Remember that the average lecturer speaks approximately 125-140 words per minute and the average note-taker writes at a rate of about 25 words per minute.

4. Organize notes into some sort of logical form.

5. Be brief. Write down only the major points and important information.

6. Write legibly. Notes are useless if you cannot read them later.

7. Don’t be concerned with spelling and grammar.

1. Eliminating small connecting words and pronouns (is, a, the, this, they, that). However, be careful NOT to eliminate these three words: and,　in,　on.

2. Substituting numerals with symbols, for instance:

Substitute “one” with 1

Substitute “third” with 3rd

3. Use Symbols and Abbreviations

The use of symbols and abbreviations is very common for meetings and lectures, when speed is essential.

The following are some examples of commonly used symbols and abbreviations:

= equals/is equal to/is the same as

≠ is not equal to/is not the same as

≡ is equivalent to

∴Therefore, thus, so, because

> More than, greater than

→ gives, causes, leads to, results in, is given by, is produced by, results in

These can be classified into three categories:

1) Common Abbreviations

Many abbreviations are derived from Latin.

c.f. (confer) = compare

i.e. (id est.) = that is

e.g. (exempla grate) = for example

NB (nota benne) = note well

No. (numero) = number

etc. (et cetera)= and so on

2) Personal Abbreviations

Here you can shorten any word that is commonly used in your lectures or meetings.

approx. = approximately

1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. = first, second, third, etc.

Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 = first, second, third, fourth quarter of the year

call to order: 宣布开会

ballots cast: 投票

notepad: n. 记事本

laptop: n. 笔记本电脑

check off: v. 核对

verbatim: adj. & adv. 完全照字面的/地，逐字的/地　n. 逐字翻译

inflammatory: adj. 煽动性的

statutory: adj. 法令的, 法定的

adjourn 休会，延期

approve 批准，认可

articles of association 公司章程

attendance list 出席名单

casting vote 决定票（指在赞成与反对票数相等时，会议主席所投的决定一票）

chairman 会议主席

consensus 一致意见

constitution （组织的）章程

convene 召开会议

executive 执行的，实行的

extraordinary meeting 特别会议

honorary post 名誉职位

lie on the table 搁置，待下次会议审议

Nem　con　[拉丁语]

opposer（动议）反对者

point of order（会议参加者质询程序是否符合有关规定的）程序问题

proxy 代理人，代理权

quorum（会议的）法定人数

refer back 将有待修改的议案退回

second 赞成，支持

secondary（会议中对某项提名、动议等的）附议者

secret ballot 无记名投票

shelve 暂时搁置无人支持的提案

Sines　die [拉丁语] 无期限的

standing committee 常务委员会

standing orders（议会的）议事规则

table（把议案）提交讨论

unanimous 一致同意的，无异议的

No apology was received from...

The meeting was called to order...

A motion was made by...

Motion seconded by...

Motion was approved.

The meeting was adjourned at...

The chairman highlighted the background of...

The member inclined to provide more information about...

The information reviewed at the June meeting suggested that...

The Manager reported on recent developments of...

Participants expressed concern about...

Participants observed that...others noted that...

Participants also discussed the role of...

Participants interpreted the incoming...

Several participants pointed out that...

In their discussion of..., participants observed that...

In light of the possibility that...

In their discussion of...

The Committee unanimously approved the minutes of...

With regard to the Committee’s announcement to be released after the meeting, members expressed some difference in views about...

Choose the best option(s) to complete the statement(s) or answer the question(s).

1. Which of the following best describes meeting minutes?

a. Secretaries are allowed to put personal opinions and comments in the minutes they write.

b. Minutes serve as objective record of all the points, not necessarily every word, discussed as a meeting.

c. Minutes must be very accurate so every single comment should be written down.

d. Minutes are all about the procedures of meetings.

2. Meeting minutes include ____________.

a. the date and hour of the meeting

b. name of the organization or the meeting

c. description of the weather and the meeting place

d. names and titles of the participants

e. what has happened at the meeting

f. name and title of the minutes’ keeper

3. To make a good minutes, you are advised to _______.

a. get familiar with the meeting agenda before the meeting

b. make a template or an outline of major topics to be discussed

c. use a tape recorder as a useful supplement for note-taking

d. type up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting

Give the abbreviation form of the foll owing words in the chart. The first one is done for you.

Translate the following sentences.

1. Annie explained that, as prospects for the future appeared sound, she should strongly recommend an increase in staff salaries.

2. Mr. Birdwhistle recommended that drink machines should be purchased.

3. Miss Shirley announced that she has made all necessary arrangement for the promotional activity.

4. The Chairman reported that the concert held on Saturday, April 12, 2013 was a great success, making a profit of $3,000.

5. The Chairman commented on the poor condition of the heating system. Mr. Dillon Williams was requested to find out the cost of new ones.

6. Helen Paterson小姐自愿做市场调查，并将在下一次会议上做相关报告。

7. 公司秘书向销售经理递交了关于新工程的详细报告。

8. 事先发下去的上次会议的记录是得到主席签字确认的正式记录。

9. 会议同意下次会议将在2014年1月3日16点（4:00 p.m.）举行。

10. Gary Clark 先生已正式说明缺席原因，他因参加商业会议而不能到会。

Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false. If it is false, explain why.

1. Keep the minutes short and to the point.

2. Minutes should be accurate. So you need to record every topic discussed on the meeting, even those irrelevant to the business at hand.

3. To help taking accurate minutes, obtain the meeting agenda, minutes from the last meeting, and any background documents to be discussed.

4. Minutes should be in a verbatim（逐字记录）manner.

5. Minutes can be taken by participants.

6. You should develop your own way of notes-taking.

7. Headings, numbers and bullet points are common devices to help build up a logic structure.

8. Now that you have taken detailed notes during the meeting, you can transcribe the minutes at any time after the meeting.

9. As the minutes-taker and a participant in the meeting, you can include your own subjective opinions in the minutes.

10. No matter what type of minutes you take, focus on capturing and communicating all important actions that took place.

Choose proper heading for each part of the following minutes.

A. Approval of Agenda　　　　　　 B. Officer’s Reports

C. Adjournment　　　　　　　　　 D. Committee Reports

E. Student Lounge Proposal　　　　 F. Attendance

1. Call to Order: 6:00

Members Present: Bill GAnzlin, Pamela Archer, Raelynn Jones, Ann Ollila, Andrea Fierst, Tom Slalin, Tali Schulz, Andy Birkey, Jack Carey, Eric McFee, Mike Bates, Leah Donrfield, Jon Drimel, Sean Mailers, Lars Loberg, Mel Baughman, Rachel Walker, Eileen Carey

Members Absent: Lean Bernsten, Mike Sombrio, Shannon Waslo, Tim Smith, Susan Stafford

3. Approval of Minutes

Previous meeting’s minutes were approved.

Approved. We are starting to use a new format for our meetings, slightly more formal but official and used by SAO (Student Activities Office).

Pam: SAO registration went through. Twin Cities Board of Governors—we need a representative; Bill will put an announcement in the weekly update. The TCBG oversees（监督、监视）all activities that go on with the unions; Issues about financing, space, etc. are brought to this board.

Scott: Our balance is $923.23 minus $65 for pizza tonight.

Professor of the Semester

It was a close vote. Dorothy Anderson won. We will possibly have electronic votes next year.　(5)　

Proposal was made to Dean. The Dean agreed in principle with the proposal but gave some recommendations: Refrigerator—either buy new or get a used refrigerator for around $600(get estimate). We can put bulletin boards on the closet doors and repaint the area behind the mailboxes (Bill will contact facilities management for estimates). The empty file cabinet will be used for club mailboxes once the current mailboxes are removed. Once all estimates（预算）are available, Dean will review and make final recommendations on funds available for the project.

The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Complete the following minutes by translating the Chinese into English.

Date: Sunday 8th Oct, 2013

Venue: Beeston Youth Community Center Chairman: Dr. Qingping Zhang

(2)_________________________（财政报告）

The balance of the school account on the September 13, 2013 is￡297.56 in credit.

Teachers arrangement

(3)_______________________________________（任命两名教师）；Ms. Shao Ping is in charge of the lower class and Ms. Ji Shuyan (4)____________________（负责高年级）.

The school fee was discussed and it was decided that the fee for each session rises to￡3 to balance the spending of￡12.50 for the venue and￡10 each for the teachers.

Extension of the standing committee

The following people were added to the standing committee: Huang Nan, ZhaoXudong, Sun Xuezhong.

(5)__________________________________（认为是有用的）for a parent to stay in turn with the classes as the teaching assistant.

Suggestions and recommendations for the school’ s future work

It was suggested that (6)_____________________________________（更多定期的活动是有益的）.

It was suggested that the teaching for the lower class (7)__________________（集中在）recognizing/memorizing Chinese characters/words.

(8)___________________________________________________________（建议做出更大的努力鼓励学生们说和使用汉语）.

It was suggested that different loads of homework may be given to (9) _____________________________（不同水平的学生）.

It was considered that following the textbooks (though some of its context is not appropriate) as a guideline is useful for the teaching.

It was suggested that parents may exchange or lend videos/VCDs to school so that the school may show them to the pupils.

Based on the nice memory from the last summer BBQ, (10) _____________________________________（将举行圣诞晚会），possibly at the beginning of December.

Next AGM: September 2014

Attendees: Yan Yujing, Zheng Qingping, Wang Yi, Sun Xuezhong, Long Deliang, Wang Qiang, Zhang Fan, Zhao Xudong, Huang Nan, Zuo Xiaofang, Shao Ping.

Write minutes for Alice Nelson (secretary) with the help of follow ing information taken from the bo ard meeting of dir ectors of Forever Company. Mr. Richard W allace is the Chairman.

Mr. Alan Hamlet:　There has been a 5% reduction in overall membership since December 2012. We have obtained 885 new members since the beginning of 2008 and reinstated（恢复）607 members.

Mr. David R. Bender:　A telemarketing（电话销售）campaign focusing on deactivated（使无效）members is planned to start in mid-May.

Mr. John Crosby:　The main objective of the telemarketing effort is to reinstate deactivated members by closing the sale. This process will eliminate duplication（重复）of efforts by membership staff. New member packets are being evaluated for effectiveness and decision on changes are expected in the next couple of months.