AGENDA AND MINUTES OF THE MEETING

Sangeeta Shahane

Phases of a meeting

The preparatory phase The conduct phase The follow up phase

AGENDA

Just as a good script is the key to a play’s success, a well

structured, informative agenda is absolutely necessary for a

successful meeting

Meeting of the student council to be held on _________ at __________

Item No. Description To be presented by

1.01 Confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting

Chairman

1.02 Review/ follow up points of the previous meeting

Mr ________________

1.03 Deciding a date for the fresher’s day party

1.04 Discussing other aspects such as venue, list of invitees, entertainment, finance

1.05 Deciding the menu

1.06 Appointment of teams to assist the council members

1.07 Any other matter with the permission of the chair

1.08 Date for the next meeting

Importance of an Agenda

It outlines the specific items to be discussed

It names the person responsible for bringing up the topic

It specifies the time allocated for each topic

Preparation required from the participants can be undertaken

Meeting time can be used for resolving problem and decision making

Purpose of the meeting

The aim should be clear and unambiguous.

If the purpose of the meeting is clear the agenda will be clear as well

)

Meetings can broadly be classified into :-

a)Review meetingb)Specific purpose meeting

( analysis and preparation for a market survey of a specific product

c) Decision makingd)Sharing of the informatione)All of the above

Order in which items are discussed ………

Members determine that the record of the last meeting is accurate, and consider it passed

Items for review Items requiring decision Items meant for sharing information

Function of the minutes of the meeting ………..

It records the procedure and outcome of the meeting

It maintains the record of who participated in decision making

Documents what are the decisions made

Names the people who would be responsible for implementing the decision

Recording of the minutes ….

The details of the person who initiated the discussions

The details of the participants who took part in the discussion along with the gist of their contribution

A record of the decisions arrived at A record of the direction/instruction

passed by the chairman The details of the person/ department,

who should take action

Expressions and language used ……..

a) ‘The chairman welcomed the ……….’b) “Mr ABC briefed all those present …..”c) “ Mr XYZ was of the view …………”d) “ Mr A Singh suggested …………..”e) “ Mr KLM presented ………………”f) “ The chairman expressed concern ….”g) “The chairman appreciated …….”( The title ‘Minutes’, the name of the group and the

time of the meeting are recorded at the top, who attended and who was granted leave of absence)

Miscellaneous ………….

Some conventions that are followed in very formal meeting ………

When you want to make the motion, attract the chairs attention by raising your hand.

( I wish to move/amend the motion ….)( I wish we table the motion …)( I rise for information)

Follow –Up Phase

Circulation of the minutes They are prepared in draft form within

24 hours Draft is circulated to all participants Comments are asked and they are

received and amendments are made( In case no comments are received by

(date) it will be deemed that the minutes are agreed to)