Minutes That Take Minutes — Not Hours

The Single Biggest Mistake Minute-Takers Make

Let me save you hours of time with one sentence.

The minute-taker’s job is to record the decisions that are made — not everything that is said.

Read that again, because it goes against everything most people were taught about taking minutes. Somewhere along the way, minute-taking became confused with court reporting. Pages and pages of who said what, how long they said it, and what everyone thought about it.

That’s not minutes. That’s a transcript. And nobody needs one.

“But We’ve Always Done It This Way”

Ah. That phrase.

If those seven words are getting regular airtime in your organisation, Houston, you’ve got a problem. It’s the battle cry of every inefficient meeting culture ever created — and it’s the reason so many minute-takers are still spending hours after every meeting trying to reconstruct a word-for-word account of a two-hour discussion.

There is a better way. A much better way.

The Efficient Meeting Cycle

Here’s the system I use — and have used for over 35 years as both a professional chair and a board secretary. It’s simple, it’s fast, and it’s completely compliant with proper meeting procedure.

Step one: Prepare your agenda on your computer, built directly from the previous minutes and any new items that need to be addressed.

Step two: Set up your document so it’s ready to capture decisions as they happen. Not summaries of discussions. Not who argued for what. Decisions — and who is responsible for acting on them.

Step three: As each decision is made during the meeting, note it immediately, along with the name of the person responsible for follow-up and any relevant deadline.

Step four: Use that amended agenda as the working framework for your next meeting.

That’s it. Four steps. Clean, clear, and chronologically organised.

How Fast Can This Actually Be?

Using this method as a board secretary, my average time to send fully compliant, professionally formatted minutes to fellow board members was three minutes after the meeting closed.

Three minutes. Not three days. Not three hours. Three minutes.

Because when you’re capturing decisions in real time rather than reconstructing a narrative from memory and scribbled notes, the minutes are essentially written by the time the chair closes the meeting.

What You’ll Learn at the Minute Taking Workshop

Knowing what to include is important. Knowing what to leave out is just as important — and that’s where most people struggle.

Once you understand the difference, the scope of the job becomes far more manageable. You’ll be able to confidently guide the meeting on recording requirements, handle the colleague who insists every word be written down, and navigate a difficult chairperson without losing your mind.

Here are some of the questions I answer at every workshop — because they come up every single time:

• How do I know what to write down and what to leave out?
• Can I interrupt the meeting if I missed something or didn’t understand?
• My chairperson is a nightmare. What can I actually do?
• Some attendees want everything recorded — then tell me I’ve written it wrong. Help!
• I spend hours transcribing my notes. Is there a better way?
• What must I know to keep the minutes legally compliant?

By the end of the program, you’ll have a complete armoury of tools and strategies to make your role less stressful, more efficient, and — yes — the boss will be happy too.

What Past Attendees Say

“Unlike other courses I’ve attended, not a minute was wasted. Will start using this method at the next program meeting.” Beverly Milloy — CSIRO Land and Water

“Exploded common myths about minute taking. I really thought I needed either shorthand or a tape recorder!” Michelle Watson — CSIRO Plant Industry

“After attending, I ‘secretaried’ one of the best meetings of the Bushcarers Group since being in this role. Thank you for giving me the courage to change.” Atlanta Veld — Lands Officer, City of Albany

“Very informative and useful. David kept us totally interested with his sense of humour and obvious knowledge.” Deidre Rayner — Australian Sports Commission

“David was a joy as a presenter. He made it fun.” Joanne Walker — Australian Institute of Sport

Why Learn From Me?

I’ve been at the coalface of meetings for over 35 years — as the chair, the organiser, the secretary, and the attendee. I’ve trained people from government departments, mining companies, law firms, medical organisations, charities, sporting bodies, and everything in between.

I hold qualifications in Corporate Governance, the Company Director’s Diploma, and the Corporate Directors Diploma. Which means the strategies I teach aren’t just practical — they’re professionally grounded and legally sound.

The workshop is a half-day program. Enough content for a full day, compacted into an easy-to-follow format with copyright-cleared templates you can take away and use immediately.

And if a tricky question comes up after the workshop? Email me directly at [email protected] and I’ll give you the answer you need.

Ready to Transform Your Minute Taking?

Minutes are just one piece of the meetings puzzle. But when they’re done well, they become the most useful document your organisation produces — a live action register that drives accountability from one meeting to the next.

Find out more about the Minute Taking workshop and all things meetings at davidprice.com