TACT and SKILL in Writing Effective Meeting Minutes By: Ann-Marie Navidomskis

When it comes to writing effective meeting minutes it’s important to never forget TACT and SKILL.

Time. It may seem obvious, but meeting minutes document at what time the meeting began and ended and how (approximately) each minute of the meeting was spent.

Attendance. It should be noted who was at the meeting, what they were assigned and when it’s due and when each person arrived and left.

Clarification. Revisions may be necessary. After each person has reviewed the minutes it’s important to correct any discrepancies.

Topic. Meeting minutes state what type of meeting it was (emergency, planned…) and what the topics covered were.

Show & Share. Because everyone at the meeting (and those absent) are responsible for what occurred it’s important to show everyone what has been documented either by projecting it or by making or e-mailing copies.

Kinetics. Were there any motions made at the meeting? Meeting minutes document who made a motion, who seconded the motion and what the final decision was: carried, defeated, postponed, etc.

Important events. Meeting minutes document every official thing that went on during the meeting time. Often time they’re kept

Leaders of the meetings will assign who is to take meeting minutes. This can be a consistent person or a rotation job.

Legal Document. It’s important to remember that Meeting Minutes can be used in a court of law as evidence.

For more information and examples of meeting minutes please visit here or watch the video below for some helpful and user-friendly advice on taking effective meeting minutes.

Oliu, Walter E., Charles T. Brusaw, and Gerald J. Alred. Writing that Works Communicating Effectively on the Job. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.

"Basic Sample of Board of Directors Meeting Minutes." Free Management Library. 12 Apr. 2009 .

CartoonStock - Cartoon Pictures, Political Cartoons, Animations. 12 Apr. 2009 .

"YouTube - How to Take Quick Meeting Minutes." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 13 Apr. 2009 .

5 C's of Technical Documents by George Herrera

The 5 C’s of technical documents. You didn’t think there were any, did you? Well there are! Clear, concise, complete, correct, and courteous. These attributes are extremely important in any technical documents that you will find.

· Clear – make sure that the message you are trying to convey is clear. Whether it be to inform, persuade, or request, always be sure that your purpose for writing the document is apparent at all times.

· Concise – Keeping it concise is one of the most important of the 5 C’s. Using excessive phrasing which can confuse the reader should be avoided. Keep to the point and avoid adding information that is not required.

· Complete – Making sure that your document is complete can be the difference between your reader understanding your point and agreeing with you, and your reader being lost in what you are trying to inform, request, or persuade about. Never leave a question, topic, or point unanswered or unexplained.

· Correct – Proofread. When you are sure your document is grammatically correct and has correct punctuation, proofread again! You can never over-proofread a piece. It will save you the embarrassment of letting foolish mistakes in your writing reach upper-level management or customers, which tend to be the majority of technical document readers.

· Courteous – There is no reason to add exclamation points in technical documents. Remember, you are informing, persuading, or requesting something in a technical document. You are not shouting at anyone. Technical writing should have a calm, neutral tone.

References

the Public Strategies Group. 2008. 12 April 2009 . <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.psg.us/images/5csfind.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.psg.us/reinvention/the5cs.html&usg=__hl87xg4pvzw1B_sGs9aoM4i-Z3M=&h=355&w=358&sz=10&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=WUNLrYvKyNhQ_M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3D5>.

Resolving Team Conflict by Viktoryia Biheza

Each one of us has a unique system of beliefs, goals, and desires. When a few people work on a single project, a conflict is often inevitable. As students, we have all been involved in teamwork, working on various projects, fulfilling our responsibilities, helping out other team members, and looking for compromise. Diversity, a major team advantage, is also a main reason for conflict. So, how do you manage the conflict properly, so it can result in benefits for your team? Read on!

1. Remember, conflict can lead to new ideas and approaches, and, in this sense, can be looked at as positive experience.

2. A good way to try to avoid conflict is for each member to know what they are accountable for and plan their work accordingly.

3. Team rules are important and following them will help you focus and avoid potential problems.

4. Please remember to always be respectful of your fellow teammates and look for compromise.

5. Confrontation can be a problem-solving technique, when the members respectfully try to get to the root of the issue and eliminate its cause.

6. Good communication is an essential key to avoid team conflicts: good listening skills, sufficient information sharing and its correct interpretation, and the proper use of nonverbal cues.

7. Finally, leaders have to be very aware of their own qualities and those of their teams, and do everything they can to make the interaction positive and valuable for the team.

Don't complain about conflicts, don't ignore them or blame others. We are all guilty of doing it sometimes, but reaching resolution through compromise and negotiation is much more effective and will make you feel in control of the situation. Go, Team!

Please, follow this link for more great tips on managing team conflicts and more :

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_79.htm

References

"Resolving conflict in project management | pmStudent." The Best Project Management Blog and Project Management Articles. 13 Apr. 2009 .

"Resolving Conflict in Work Teams - An article by The Team Building Directory." Team Building - Activities, Companies, Directory and Information. 13 Apr. 2009 .

"Becoming a Strong Project Leader, Resolving Project Team Conflicts and Building Project Teams - ESI International Instructor Peggy Jo Wallis Shares Her Project Management Best Practices." Business Training for Project Management and Business Professionals, ESI International. 13 Apr. 2009 .

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=street+fight

Writing Formal and Informal Reports By David Royster

Formal Reports

Formal Reports have many different names, such as feasibility study, annual, investigative, research, and analytical report. They are written to inform about major projects like, research into new fields, possibly enter into a new field, or developments that occurred over the past year.

Formal reports include aids such as, table of contents, a list of figures, and an abstract (summary).

These reports run several hundred pages managers, decision-makers and experts will not read a whole report, so getting your point across is important in the summary.

Brainstorming and research is important to complete a formal report. An introduction, summary, abstract, conclusion, and recommendation also make up a formal report.

Formal Reports can take several months, lots of money, and can be worked together as a team to complete a report.

Revision is important to any written material; make sure you revise your draft several times before proposing it to any client or customer.

Informal Reports

Informal Reports are a lot less extensive in detail, than a formal report. A few paragraphs to a couple pages make up these types of reports, which are sent as memos, letters, and emails to clients and customers.

There are different types of informal reports such as trouble, investigative, progress, periodic, trip, and test reports.

The audience is smaller and more familiar with the subject in an informal report. The main idea should be clearly stated, so the reader can receive the message.

These means of communication are essential in every business aspect.

• Oliu, Walter E., Charles T. Brusaw, and Gerald J. Alred. Writing That Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.
  
  

Writing Business Invitations By Jason Levine

In order to have an impressive turnout at a business event, it is extremely important to spend some time writing an appropriate business invitation. Even though the sender of any invitation should put a lot of thought into their letter, it is very important that a business person makes their letter a little bit classier than the average birthday invitation.

People feel more welcome when invitations and sent to them personally. Although it may be slightly easier to print a generic invitation and send it to all recipients, it shows your appreciation and your desire for your recipient to attend if you include their name at the top of the invitation. That LITTLE extra step is really a BIG deal.

In addition, set the date of your event far away and give the recipients a lot of notice. Also, make it a convenient date (avoid holiday weekends, etc). It is important to have as many people show up to the meeting; if only certain recipients can attend, it could cost your business a significant amount of money.

Finally, as with any form of writing, it is absolutely necessary to proofread the invitation. If a client, partner, or customer receives an invitation with typographical errors or misspellings, it will definitely make the sender's company look foolish.

EZINE ARTICLES - Business Invitation Letter
http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Invitation-Letter---Quick-Guide-and-Effective-Tips&id=641017

Writing and Formatting Memos By David Royster

Memos can do many different things, such as:

*Announce policies
*Confirm conversations
*Exchange information
*Delegate responsibilities
*Request information
*Transmit documents
*Instruct employees
*Report results

Memos can be sent on paper, as attachment in an email, or as in email itself all depending on the purpose.

Memos should be effective, but concise and clear so that your reader can understand your thoughts, so there are no misunderstandings or confusion.

The format of your Memo should be as followed:

TO: Dr. Wilson Bradshaw, FGCU President
FROM: David Royster, BusyBee Blogger
Date: April 6, 2009
Subject: BusyBee Blogger Post

The name of the person you want to send this memo to, your name as the sender, the date you are writing this memo, and the subject of the memo.

The opening in a memo tells the specific reason why this memo is written. The main idea should be provided in the first sentence.

The body should tell your reader what your memo is about in detail. Lists and headers are really effective in providing details to your reader, it also shows there importance.

The closing of a memo provides a mean for your reader to contact you, as well as build a good relationship, encourage your reader, and let you know what your future intentions are.

Revision is also important in memos and any other written or typed documents.

Tips for Writing User Manuals by George Herrera

People often rely on user manuals to learn about an application or system. The biggest complaint from users of new IT systems and applications are the comprehensibility of their user guides/manuals. As stated in Klariti.com: “When writing a User Guide, use simple language with short sentences.” Be sure to identify your audience before writing your manual. I am going to show you the basic outline of a user manual.

Klariti.com breaks down the separate components that the user manual should consist of:

-Front page

-Cover and title page

-Copywrite and name of company

-Disclaimer

-Preface

-Contents

-Body - The body should have the procedures separate from the references.

-Glossary

-Index

Procedures help users understand how to carry out a certain process. When writing procedures, be sure to break them down into tasks and even further into subtasks. Give all possible outcomes and remember to use clear and simple diction. Be sure to include diagrams for the more in-depth instructions or tutorials.

Reference material gives detailed information on a topic. According to Klariti.com,

“Reference materials can include:

• Program options, for example, different menus and buttons that are presented to the user
  
• Keyboard options, for example, hold AltGr and 4 to show the Euro symbol


• Error messages that may arise when you use the application


• Troubleshooting tips to resolve these issues
  
• Frequently asked questions that the user may have about the software”

Now that you have the basics on composing your own user manuals, you should feel confident that you can reach out and teach any user a specific application or system. Start with something small to get the overall feel for writing manuals. Who knows? With a little bit of practice, you may be the mastermind behind all of the technical writing manuals for Microsoft!

References

User Guide Tutorial . 2008. 5 April 2009. http://www.klariti.com/technical-writing/User-Guides-Tutorial.shtml.

Writing Concisely by Scott Dillon

What is concise? Concise is simply, to the point.

"Clutter is the disease of American writing," says William Zinsser in his classic text, On Writing Well. "We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon."



Tips to Writing Concisely:

Write Conversationally

“The way you speak without slang or incomplete sentences.”

Reduce Long Clauses

“Reduce long clauses to shorter phrases.”

Reduce Phrases

“Reduce phrases to single words.”

Drop the Clichés

“Overused expressions, simply avoid.”

Avoid Empty Openers

“Empty openers add nothing to the meaning of a sentence.”

Don't Overwork Modifiers

“Modifiers add nothing or little to the meaning of a sentence.”

Avoid Redundancies (Repetitious Expressions)

“Phrases that use more words than necessary to make a point.”

Examples of these tips can be found at the various sites that are cited below.

References:

Writing911, "Get to the Point! How to Prune Wordy Writing into Clear, Concise Prose ." EcoScribe Communications 2005 1. 5 Apr 2009.
http://writing911.com/writing/good-writing-tips/writing-clearly--concisely/get-to-the-point-how-to-prune-wordy-writing.html.

Nordquist, Richard. "Top 5 Tips to Cut the Clutter." About.com 04/12/2007 1. 5 Apr 2009.
http://grammar.about.com/od/words/tp/clutter_tips.htm.

Bindas, Christina. "Focal Point." GettyImages. Flickr. 5 Apr 2009
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/85186641/flickr?esource=en-us_flickr_photo

Tips on Being Persuasive by Justin Jelley

Tips on Being Persuasive in Writing

I'm sure that, being college students, at some point or another you have had to write a persuasive essay or paper, or simply a persuasive e-mail asking for grade forgiveness for the class you just didn't do all that great in because of all your other important commitments e.g. $4 pitchers at Fire Pit. All joking aside, being able to write persuasively is a great tool anyone should have in their writing arsenal, especially if you are getting into the professional world of business. Persuasive writing is a great way to get your point across when you feel very passionately about something and are willing to express how you feel. Here are some excellent tips on improving your persuasive writing skills.

1. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH

• Find out the needs, wants and desires of the reader and focus on them
• Having a passionate opinion about a topic is a keystone to persuasion.
• Tell readers exactly what they need to know. No fluff here people!!!
• Put together your position.

o State your position.
o List reasons to doubt and support this position.
o Create an evidence chart.

 Research all positions on the issue.
 Write a brief summary on each position.
 List reasons for supporting your position including strengths and weaknesses.
 List counter arguments that will provide protection against an opposing position.

2. GRAB THE READER’S ATTENTION

• Draw the reader in with an example of your argument.
• Be concrete on the benefits of your solution (not the features).
• Use active verbs and a conversational tone.

3. FORMAT AND STRUCTURE

• A simple format to follow is problems, causes, and solutions.
• The reader should be able to clearly see your position from the structure.
• Do not turn your persuasive piece into an editorial!!!

o Passion is great for persuasion; just avoid only writing your opinion.
o Your voice and opinion should be clear, but not overwhelming.

Being able to correctly write persuasively is a tough task to accomplish, but if you focus on the tips I have provided, your persuasive writing is surely going to improve. And now that you have read my blog on being persuasive, I hope I have persuaded you to go out and practice this new skill to utilize in your professional future.

Works Cited

"Tips for Effective Persuasive Writing - Associated Content." Associated Content - associatedcontent.com. 05 Apr. 2009 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/403613/tips_for_effective_persuasive_writing_pg2.html?cat=24.

"Tips for persuasive writing." Quality Web Content - free web writing guide for web portal content writers and web content providers. 05 Apr. 2009 http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/42/5/.

"Writing Persuasion." Montanalife.com. 05 Apr. 2009 .

Leading a Team by Viktoryia Biheza

Who are you at your best? Who would you like to be? If you would like to become a responsible and effective leader and create positive changes when interacting with people, read on.

Leadership begins in the heart of an individual, evolves and develops through relationships and partnerships, and occurs through teamwork. Recognizing one's talents and skills is the first essential step on the way of enabling and empowering yourself to lead a team.

Leading a team requires different knowledge sets, skills and abilities from simply leading an individual or a group of individuals who are not required to work together in a coordinated, integrated fashion. 4 key activities for a team leader are:

1. Setting vision and direction for a team. A team leader has a good idea of what his team can accomplish and what contributions are expected of all members of the team. This takes us to the next activity:

2. Ensuring that team members are equipped with a right set of skills for the task and

3. Coaching and directing the team as a whole, not just as a group of separate individuals. Finally,

4. Being a supportive link for all the members, developing an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.

When you are a team leader, align your team members with the projects they feel passionate about and trust them. Even if they don’t have much experience in that area, their passion can become a strong drive for innovation and growth!

There will always be times when things don’t work out the way you hoped. Learn to handle these situations gracefully, without blaming the individuals. Otherwise, you risk creating an atmosphere in which people are afraid to take risks. Make it a learning experience!

Remember, as Eric Matson said: "Your job as a team leader is to provide the tools, motivation, and direction. The team needs to do the work itself."



References


http://www.fastcompany.com/guides/leadteam.html

http://www.builderau.com.au/strategy/projectmanagement/soa/10-tips-for-leading-your-team-to-peak-performance/0,339028292,339278390,00.htm

http://research.abs.aston.ac.uk/newweb/media-centre/podcasts/transcipts/LeadingaTeam.asp

http://ankanpoikanen.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/renewing-my-faith-in-people-and-penguins/