Now the work really starts!

It’s best to start writing minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. However transparent your notes seemed in the meeting, they won’t be nearly as clear 24 hours later, and if you leave them for two weeks you will wonder whether that was you in the meeting.

• Minutes should follow the order of the agenda.Even if someone revisited a topic later in the meeting, you should include that discussion under the original agenda item. Make sure that you include all the key points made in discussion, any decisions made, and actions agreed, together with who is responsible for actions.
• Minutes are almost always written in the past tense, and usually in the passive voice (“X set out that y needed to happen; it was agreed that Z would be responsible”). Use ‘would’ rather than ‘will’ for what is going to happen, especially with formal minutes.
• It is a matter of style whether you use first names, titles plus surnames, or initials to refer to those speaking. Check with the chair or look at past minutes to see what has been done before. Use the same approach consistently.