Less is more. This concept, coined by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, also applies to the art of recording minutes.

While recording standards have evolved, one thing hasn't changed: many assistants are uncomfortable with the task, or uncertain about getting minutes right. You want to document information that's relevant for institutional purposes, and meeting participants want concise, accurate records. This means you need to distinguish between what should and shouldn't be recorded.

Shelagh can help you elevate the quality of your minutes as well as your confidence when it comes to this important aspect of the job. Anticipate discussion of purpose, accessibility, context and organizational needs. We’ll also look at the recorder's neutrality, how best to record resolutions, and the art of attribution.

YOUR TAKEAWAYS:

• Enhance your confidence when it comes to recording meetings
• Ensure that your recording practices have evolved and meet organizational needs
• Tips to assess your minutes for neutrality
• Understand what should and shouldn't be recorded

You may not chair the meetings you record, but you can certainly take the lead when it comes to organizational systems that will benefit you and your colleagues.

A good agenda can impact meeting success, and that includes effective use of participants' time. We’ll focus on agenda design as well as the use of consent agendas and report templates.

Since securing colleagues’ agenda deliverables in a timely manner can sometimes be a challenge, we'll also look at communicating with work plans and calendars to ensure that colleagues know what’s expected of them and when. These tools also help you increase your efficiencies, as they eliminate the need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to agenda planning and recurring meeting items.

YOUR TAKEAWAYS:

• Understand how consent agendas work and help make the best use of meeting time
• Tips for agenda templates that help people better prepare for meetings
• Encourage efficiencies through the use of briefs/report templates
• Why a work plan/forward calendar is a win:win for you and your colleagues
• Tips for developing your own work plan/forward calendar

ription

This interactive session will challenge you to assess the impact your writing skills have on your career prospects. Whether you’re comfortable in your current role or want to enhance prospects for promotion, you’ll benefit by considering what your business writing says about your credibility, currency and professionalism.

Join Shelagh to enhance your ability to write for multiple audiences and demographics, with concise content that’s underpinned by good grammar, proper punctuation and organizational knowledge. Even the best assistants will benefit from revisiting how to structure business communications with clarity and logic. We’ll also focus on your choice of words, and how your writing can either convey or toss away power and influence.

Through this session, you’ll reassess your writing skills from the perspectives of executives and other colleagues as well as clients and recruiters. In the process, you’ll gain insights on how to ensure your written communications yield positive reputational impacts for you and for your employer.

YOUR TAKEAWAYS:

• Writing with your audiences in mind
• Be concise: write so that people will read your work
• How to structure your communications with clarity and logic
• How to ensure your grammar and language enhance, not diminish, your reputation