How do you take minutes when you dont know the attendees names?

[shirley.haworth]

Due to start a new PA role in the new year, very excited, big opportunity for me. It will involve a lot of minute taking at Executive level.

I currently take minutes in my current job but not very often, when I do I pass round an attendance sheet at the start of the meeting, sometimes however when they arrive late and the meeting is in full swing they do not complete this and its hard to catch them. I find my minutes read   "man in the blue coat commented and the motion was seconded by frizzy red hed" Not the slick professional approach I was aiming for.

How do you get past this.

Keep on truckin...

[JessW]

Sorry if this is an obvious answer, but as the "new minute taker" the regular attendees and old hands will give you a lot of leaway just so long as you ask.  It would also be useful if the chairperson remind everyone there that you don't know everyone's name at the start of the meeting, to get them to introduce themselves and (perhaps) let you know their names during the meetings - at least until you are broken into the job!

Hope that helps a bit.

Jess

[gee4]

In my last job my company took their turn to host a quarterly meeting.  The manager who attended with me was the Chairman for the year.  At the first meeting, he asked everyone to go round the table and introduce themselves, so not only did I have each person's name and company they were from, but I also familiarised myself with faces for the next meeting.  I found this really helped.

At each meeting thereafter I circulated an attendance sheet for each person to sign/tick.  Very often we had attendees in absence of others, so it was good to get visitors' names also for the purpose of the minutes.

Managers should take this into consideration but as a new member of staff, don't be afraid to ask, even after the meeting if you need to stop someone and say, excuse me you were just at XYZ meeting but I didn't quite catch your name....etc.

[Jackie G]

At the start of the meeting put a blank piece of paper in front of yourself, and draw out a diagram of the seating and allocate a name to each seat.  That's something I've done in the past and it's useful.  It means that you can see quickly who the main contributors are and who keeps quiet!!

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[mashley]

The seating diagram is also useful if you know person A, but not person B, and they sat next to each other you can then ask Person A the name of B.

I also number each position, so when taking minutes I write 3 motioned, 4 seconded; or Discussion by 2 led to motion ..It's shorter than names.

[Jackie G]

Also if you sit beside the Chair of the meeting (which you should anyway so you can mutter at them and keep them right!) they should help you out with names so that you're not lost.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[peaches2160]

The introduction at the onset of the meeting is good to "break the ice" and help other too learn new faces.

[Atlanta Z3]

If there is a meeting invitation - for example outlook - can you print the attendee list?  I like the diagram idea though I hadn't thought of that one.