Minutes, also known as protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.
Minutes may be created during the meeting by a typist or court recorder, who may use shorthand notation and then prepare the minutes and issue them to the participants afterwards. Alternatively, the meeting can be audio recorded, video recorded, or a group's appointed or informally assigned Secretary may take notes, with minutes prepared later. Many government agencies use minutes recording software to record and prepare all minutes in real-time.
For private organizations, it is usually important for the minutes to be terse and only include a summary of discussion and decisions. A verbatim report is typically not useful. The minutes of certain groups, such as a corporate board of directors, must be kept on file and are important legal documents.
Read more about Minutes: Public Minutes, Format
Famous quotes containing the word minutes:
“if thou slip thy troth and do not come at all.
As minutes in the clock do strike so call for death I shall:
To please both thy false heart, and rid myself from woe,
That rather had to die in troth than live forsaken so.”
—Unknown. The Lady Prayeth the Return of Her Lover Abiding on the Seas (l. 19–22)
“A new gadget that lasts only five minutes is worth more than an immortal work that bores everyone.”
—Francis Picabia (1878–1953)
“I have proved by actual trial that a letter, that takes an hour to write, takes only about 3 minutes to read!”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)