Onward and upward, with use of action-oriented synonyms rather than passive or repetitive phrases

Now that we spent time Deconstructing Your Minutes in yesterday’s blog, let’s turn to how our use of language can elevate them.

When preparing minutes, do you sometimes seek inspiration to minimize repetition of verbs used to summarize actions undertaken during your meetings? After all, few among us – or our readers – enjoy reading sentence after sentence monotonously offering that, “X asked …” or, “Z noted …”

Equally important, we want to present minutes in an active voice that reflects the action-oriented nature of our meetings. It may be easy to lapse into a passive voice, recording that, “The committee received a report …” or that “Y accepted an award …” but, when you think about it, isn’t such language a disservice to the people who invest time preparing for and then actively participate in a meeting?

With these thoughts in mind, click on Exceptional EA’s Action Verbs or check below for options to consider the next time you’re seeking inspiration … and note (or reflect, observe, affirm, declare or even applaud!) that all such words are provided in the past tense, which is the appropriate choice for recording minutes.