English for Business Writings

1. IEN 312 ENGLISH FOR
BUSINESS MEETINGS
A.Warisa Suksomboon
Week 10

2. Closing the meeting
• “OK, everyone, I think we can stop there – it‟s nearly
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twelve o‟clock. I‟d like to sum up.
There are three main conclusions from the meeting. First,
….. . Secondly, …. . And finally, …… .”
OK, that brings us to the end of all the items on the
agenda.
Are there any other points that anyone wants to make?
What about another meeting? Is Nov 14 OK for
everybody?
Thanks a lot for your input, everyone.
I look forward to seeing you again at the next
videoconference.

3. Minutes
• Written as an accurate record of what took place and what
decisions were taken.
• Meeting Minutes are useful because people can easily
forget what decided at a meeting if nothing written down.
• In some cases, meeting minutes can act as a reference
point.

4. Essential Questions
• What is the purpose of minutes?
• Who writes the minutes?
• What do the minutes contain?

5. Be sure your minutes answer these
questions.
• When was the meeting?
• Who attended?
• Who did not attend? (Include this information if it matters.)
• What topics were discussed?
• What was decided?
• What actions were agreed upon?
• Who is to complete the actions, by when?
• Were materials distributed at the meeting?
• Is there anything special the reader of the minutes should
know or do?
• Is a follow-up meeting scheduled? If so, when? where?
why?

6. Writing Meeting Minutes
• Minutes of the …. Meeting
• Date/time
• Venue
• Present
• Apologies
• Minutes of previous meeting
• Documents/handouts
• Matters arising
• Topics
• Decisions (next steps/voting outcomes/motions taken or
rejected)
• Action points (responsible/deadline)
• Next meeting (date/time/venue/objective)

7. Suggestions
• Write minutes soon after the meeting ends.
• Don‟t skip writing minutes just because everybody
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attended.
Record topics discussed, decision made, and action
items. Don‟t describe all the „he said, she said‟ details.
Use positive language. Avoid using some negative words
like „angry‟ or „aggressive‟, but use „lively‟ or „energetic‟.
Avoid personal observations. The fewer adjectives or
adverbs you use, the better.
Edit to ensure clarity.
Write in the same tense throughout.

8. Case Study
• Work in a group of 3-4
• Use the Toby Training template to write the minutes of the
meeting from Unit 10 (Track 25)