The best minute taking courses depend on why you’re taking the courses, the availability and cost of such courses in your area, and the kinds of minute taking tips and techniques the courses teach. If you’re volunteering your time for a local club, you might decide to learn how to take minutes on your own, and for free. On the other hand, if you’re working for a professional organization and taking minutes is part of your job, take some time to browse the curriculum and costs of both local schools and online courses.
Before you start looking for minute taking courses, determine whether you actually need formal training for meeting and minute taking. For example, you might be interested in learning how to take minutes for non-professional reasons. Perhaps you volunteered to keep minutes at meetings for a local social club. Maybe you decided to help your church by taking minutes at its monthly board meetings. In these kinds of situations, it might make more sense, financially and time wise, for you to check out free websites and books that outline minute taking tips and techniques.
Once you decide to enroll in a professional course, determine whether you want to take an online class or one in a physical classroom setting. For many people, this decision will be based on location and available resources, though each individual’s personal learning style should play a role, too. The Internet is overflowing with businesses that teach online minute taking courses. Some areas might offer minute taking courses at technical and vocational schools. Certain community centers might provide space for adjunct high school teachers and college professions to teach courses on taking minutes.
The best minute taking courses teach all the minute taking techniques and tips a good minute taker needs. These techniques include preparations to make and tasks to complete before, during, and after a meeting. Such techniques include preparing a minute book or determining the best minute taking tool for you, learning the different kinds of meetings and how to take minutes for each, and learning how to go beyond writing to listen, think, and organize. Similar to a note taking course, a minute taking course might teach you how to take a large amount of information and summarize its main points for brevity and clarity. A basic minute taking course should teach you most of these techniques, but depending on your role, you might want to take an advanced course at some point, too.
Prices for minute taking courses vary. Often, the cost depends on location and availability, as well as the course instructor, the classroom setting, and whether the course is basic or advanced. Shop around for the best price, but keep in mind your area might not offer more than one or two minute taking courses during a given time period. You might even talk with local vocational school or colleges about auditing any courses they teach on minute taking, as some schools offer a discounted price for audited classes. If you can’t find an affordable minute taking course, and you don’t actually need any kind of formal training or a minute taking certification for your job, consider studying minute taking tips and techniques online for free.
