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Key #8: Put decisions made and action items at the beginning of your meeting notes

Let’s be honest, how far do you get through most meeting minutes? While you may have some folks read every word, if people open the document, they are likely only going to read the first page.  If we want folks to take action and be accountable, we need to keep it at the beginning and easy for them to see it!  Join me as I provide three reasons you want to put decisions made and action items at the beginning of your meeting notes. If you want to see the simple template I use, check out the 10 Keys To Accountability Resource.

Prioritizes importance

When you put the decisions made and action items at the beginning, you show that they are the most important information from the meeting. If we put them at the end, we unconsciously minimize their importance. As you organize the notes from your next meeting, remember to keep the most important information at the beginning.  When you narrow and clearly identify what is most important, it becomes easier for everyone to be accountable.

Recognizes limited attention

When we are quickly reviewing emails and attempting to take action on what is most important, we have limited time and attention. If our decisions made and action items are at the beginning of our meeting notes, we don’t have to worry if our members make it past the first page of information. The first page contains the essential information. If our members review the first page, they will know exactly what was decided and what they need to do to take action.

Prepares the next meeting agenda

As I highlighted in last week’s post, one of the best ways to support accountability is to begin the meeting agenda with the previous meeting action items. When you structure the meeting notes to begin with decisions made and action items, you automatically create your next meeting agenda.

How are you going to structure your meeting notes to clearly identify the decisions made and action items?

If you want to explore these accountability keys further, Register today for my next Free Masterclass on Wednesday, October 20th, The Thing No One Wants to Talk About Part 1

PhotPhoto by Firmbee.com on Unsplash

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