(record[(for v.)rɪˈkɔːd; (for n.) ˈrekɔːd])
The record of a meeting is one of the business writings that we commonly encounter in the workplace. Xu Youjie, the vice president of public relations and communication from the Greater China Region of Procter& Gamble company , observes that many people often focus on recording the details and the process of the meeting rather than the result when they write meeting minutes. In this circumstance, it will lead to too much information being recorded, and inevitably the most important one will be ignored. In XuYoujie's view, it is essential to understand the ultimate purpose of the meeting before making a good record of the meeting. Before the meeting, the record holder should confirm the meeting's objectives to the supervisor or the sponsor of the meeting, and then record the results according to the objectives. There is no need to record all that is mentioned in the meeting.When Xu Youjie hold a meeting, he will divide the paper into two columns: a column to record the result of the discussion; another column to write down the issue, including who is responsible for the task, what to do and when the task is expected to be completed and so on. Before the next meeting, you can make it clear by taking out of the minutes of the meeting before.
In an interview carried out by “Manager” ,Xu Youjie shared three points concerning writing a record of the meeting.
First, it is advised to ensure consensus among participants. After the record has been written, the record holder may send it to the participants to confirm whether it is correct or not. If everyone has no objection, this meeting record is a consensus on the outcome of the meeting. .
Second, the minutes of the meeting can be served as a basis for follow-up. When the supervisor is questioning the direction of the project, he can take the minutes of the meeting to prove that it is affected by the external factors, not the things within the controllable scope.
Third, the meeting record should be completed within 24 hours to ensure the accuracy of the content. Compared with other work, the minutes of the meeting are not urgent, so someone put it in the end. For the recorder and participant , that will result in forgetting the details of the meeting to some extent.
会议记录是职场中最常遇到的商业写作,宝洁大中华区传播与公关副总裁许有杰观察发现,很多人写会议记录时,常把重点放在记录会议过程和细节,而不是结果上,这会导致记录的信息太多,最重要的反被淹没。在许有杰看来,要写好会议记录,必须先理解会议的最终目的。开会前,记录者应向主管或会议发起人确认会议目标,再根据目标,把讨论结果记录下来,没必要把所有提到的事情都逐一记录。许有杰开会时,会把手里的纸张分成两栏:一栏记录议题的讨论结果;另一栏要写下议题的“下一步”由谁负责、要做什么、预计何时完成等。下次开会时,把之前的会议记录拿出来,就一目了然了。
接受《经理人》月刊采访时,许有杰分享了写好一份会议记录所需要的三个要点:
第一,确保与会者达到共识。记录者写完会议纪录后,可以发给参加会议的人,确认内容是否无误。如果大家都没有异议,这份会议记录就是大家对会议结果的共识。
第二,会议记录可以做为后续依据。当主管质疑项目的走向时,可以拿出会议纪录比对,证明是受到外在因素的影响,而不是没做好可控范围内的事。
第三,会议纪录要在24小时内完成,才能确保内容的准确度。与其他工作相比,会议纪录算不上紧急,于是就有人把它排到最后。这样会导致,记录者和参会者在一定程度上忘记会议里的某些细节。