AGENDA AND MINUTES FOR MEETINGS
These
suggestions will allow you to create templates for the
Agenda and Minutes of meetings. They are one personal view, and can be
amended
to suit your current system.
Agenda
Template
- Select and copy the following Agenda:
Agenda for the
meeting of [ ] to be held at [ ] on ( ) at ( )
Apologies
Minutes of
meeting of ( )
Matters arising
Correspondence
Inward
Outward
Discussion
Financial
statement
Discussion
Reports
President
Report 1
Report 2
Report 3
Report 4
Report 5
General Business
Date of next
meeting
- Open Microsoft Word; paste the copied Agenda
into a new document
- Because the format (HTML) of the copied information is different
from that used by Word, it is
necessary to change this: for
each line, press End;
press Delete; press Enter
- Replace the "[ ]"s with details for your organisation; replace
"Report 1" etc. with the names of subcommittees, etc. which give reports
- Put the cursor in the line "Matters arising"; click on Format > Paragraph; make “Left”
indentation as 0.7; click on OK
- Select the 3 lines “Inward”, “Outward”, and “Discussion”; make
the
left indentation as 0.7
- Put the cursor in the line “Discussion” after “Financial
Statement”; make the
left indentation as 0.7
- Select from “President” to “Report 5”; make the left
indentation as 0.7
- Open Windows Explorer;
create a new folder under “My Documents”; give this the name of your
organisation
[To
create a new folder in Windows XP: in the left
panel, click on the folder which the
new folder is to be created in; click on the Folders
button in the toolbar at the top; click on Make a new
folder in the left panel; in
the right panel, type in the name of the new folder (without deleting
the name “New
Folder”, which will be selected); press Enter
In other versions of Windows
(also works in XP): in the left
panel, click on the folder in which the new folder is to be created;
right-click
on a blank part of the right panel; click on New> Folder;
in the right panel, type in the name of the new
folder (without deleting the name “New Folder”, which will be
selected); press Enter]
- Create a folder in this folder and name it as “Meetings”
[To
create a folder in this folder: with the hierarchy of
folders open in the left panel, click on the folder in which the new
folder is
to be created; then proceed as above]
- Save the agenda in the folder “Meetings” as “agenda
template.doc”; make this file “Read only”
[To
make a file “Read only: click on the folder in the left
panel; right-click on the filename in the right panel; click on Properties;
click on the “Read-only” box; click on OK]
Agenda
for
Each Meeting
- Open Microsoft Word; open the saved “agenda
template.doc”
- Replace the "( )"s with details for the upcoming meeting
- If desired the lines could be spaced more widely
[To space lines more widely:
select the block of lines to spaced; click on click on Format > Paragraph; click on the
"Reveal button" at the right of the "Line spacing" bar; click on 1.5 lines (or for a different
spacing: click on Multiple;
type a spacing, eg 1.2, in the "At" bar); click on OK]
- "Save As" in the "Meetings" folder with a new name, eg "agenda
MMYY.doc", where MM (2 digits) is the month, YY (2 digits) is the year
- Print or email to members
The
Minutes Template
- Open “agenda
template.doc”; change the first line to read: "Minutes of Meeting of
[name of organisation] held at [meeting place]
on
at"
- Insert "Present" and a list of all members before
"Apologies"
- Put the cursor in line "Present"; click on Format > Paragraph; click on
Reveal button by "Special", click on "Hanging"; make "By" as 0.7 cm;
click on OK
- Insert "That Apologies be accepted
(
/
) Carried" after "Apologies" [the spaces in brackets are
for the names of Mover/Seconder to be inserted]; make the
left indentation as 0.7
- Insert "That the Minutes are a true and correct record of
proceedings
(
/
) Carried" after "Apologies"; make the
left indentation as 0.7
- Insert "That the Inward Correspondence be received and the
Outward Correspondence be confirmed
(
/
) Carried" after "Outward"
- Insert "That the Financial Statement be received
(
/
) Carried" after "Financial Statement"; make the
left indentation as 0.7
- Insert "That the Reports be received
(
/
) Carried" after the final Report
- Insert "The meeting closed
at
" after "Date of next meeting"
- Save as "mins template.doc"
Recording
the Minutes at Each Meeting
- Insert lines between items as spaces for the Minute Secretary to
record
the discussion (estimate the size of spaces according to the expected
amount of business to be recorded in each)
- Save as "meeting record.doc"; make Read Only
- Print off a copy for each meeting as required
- At each meeting:
circle members who have given apologies; cross out names of others not
present; record business in appropriate spaces
Preparing
the Minutes Template
- Make
"Apologies" as Hanging Indent, 0.7 cm (see above)
- At end of the line "Matters arising" (before "Corrrespondence"):
press Enter; click on Format > Bullets and Numbering;
click on a box with "1 .. 2 .. 3"; click on Customize button; make "Aligned at"
as 0.7 cm; make "Tab space after" as 0.7 cm; make "Indent at" as 1.4
cm; click on OK
- Do the same for each of the following items: "Inward"; "Outward";
"Discussion"; "President"; each of "Report 1" etc; "General Business"
(there should now be a "1." in the line after each of these)
- Put the cursor in the line "Present"; click on Format > Paragraph; make "Spacing
before" as 4 pt
- Do the same for each of the following items: "Apologies"; Minutes
of meeting"; "Correspondence"; "Outward";
"Financial Statement"; "Reports"; each of "Report 1" etc; "General
Business"; "The meeting closed at"; and "Date of next meeting"
(there should now be a space, less than a line, before each of these)
- Add two line spaces after "Date of next meeting"; type "Signed
..............................................................
Date ......................................."
- Save as "minutes template.doc"; make Read Only
Preparing
the Minutes
- Open "minutes template.doc"
- Insert dates and times: "Meeting of"; "The meeting closed at";
Date of next meeting"
- From the list of members (in "Present"): select names of those
with apologies; drag and drop to "Apologies"; delete names of those not
present and with no apology
- Insert names of movers and seconders ("That apologies be
accepted", etc); delete spaces as necessary
- Insert what was recorded for appropriate sections.When more than
one item is included: press Enter
at the end of each except the last; delete spaces as necessary
- When only one item is included (including "No report", etc): if
brief, put the cursor at the beginning of the item; press Backspace until it moves to the
previous line
- If there is a motion partway through a list of items: insert the
motion (including Mover/Seconder, discussion, amendments, etc) as a
numbered item; continue to add further items; then put the cursor at
the beginning of the motion; press Backspace once to delete the number
(if a series begins again with "1": put the cursor in this item;
click on Format > Bullets and
Numbering; click on Customize
button; make "Start at" as the required number)
- Save as "minutes MMYY.doc"
