Records: Prewriting

Purpose of minutes

Your purpose in writing a minutes document is to record:

• what was discussed
• what was decided
• what actions are to be taken as a result
• who is to take those actions.

Minutes are rarely word-for-word (verbatim) reports, unless the meeting is a highly formal one. Minutes are a record of what was done and what was planned, not what was said.

An effective minutes document reflects the two basic functions of a meeting:

1. to present information
2. to solve problems.

Therefore, an effective minutes document records the essential information related to those two functions, and writing minutes effectively requires strong skills in listening, analysing and summarizing.

© WHO 2011