Business English - Language for Memos, Agendas, and Meeting Minutes

Activity 1: Let's Get Started! (Warm-up)

Why are documents like memos, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes important for effective communication and organization within a company or professional group?
Have you ever found a meeting agenda particularly helpful, or well-written minutes useful after a meeting? What specific qualities made them effective for you?
What challenges or problems can arise if these types of documents (memos, agendas, minutes) are poorly written, unclear, or not distributed properly to the relevant people?

Activity 2: New Words (Vocabulary)

Let's explore some essential terms and phrases related to creating and understanding memos, agendas, and meeting minutes. Knowing these will help you navigate these common business documents.

1. Memo (Memorandum) (noun): A short, official note or report, typically sent between people in the same organization, used to provide information, make a request, or recommend an action.

Example: The manager sent a memo to all staff regarding the new office recycling policy.

2. Agenda (noun): A list of items, topics, or activities to be discussed or accomplished at a formal meeting, usually in a specific order.

Example: Please review the agenda before the meeting so you are prepared to discuss all points.

3. Minutes (noun, plural): The official written record of the proceedings of a meeting, including topics discussed, decisions made, and actions assigned.

Example: The secretary is responsible for taking accurate minutes during the board meeting.

4. Action Item (noun phrase): A specific task assigned to an individual or group to be completed, typically with a deadline, that arises from a meeting discussion.

Example: One key action item from the meeting is for John to research new software vendors by next Friday.

5. Chairperson (or Chair) (noun): The person who presides over and leads a meeting, guiding the discussion according to the agenda and ensuring procedures are followed.

Example: The chairperson opened the meeting by welcoming all attendees and reviewing the agenda.

6. Quorum (noun): The minimum number of members of a committee, board, or other assembly that must be present at a meeting to make its proceedings valid and enable binding decisions.

Example: The meeting was postponed because they did not have a quorum of board members present.

7. Motion (noun): A formal proposal put forward for discussion and decision (usually by voting) during a formal meeting.

Example: Ms. Davis made a motion to approve the revised budget, which was then seconded.

8. Circulate (verb): To pass something, such as a document or information, from person to person or group to group, often for review or awareness.

Example: The draft report will be circulated to all department heads for feedback before finalization.

Activity 3: Reading - Project Phoenix Update & Meeting Prep

Read the following internal communication, which includes a memo excerpt and a subsequent discussion about meeting preparation. Notice the use of related terminology.

Subject: Update & Meeting: Project Phoenix - Memo
To: All Project Phoenix Team Members
From: Sarah Chen, Project Lead
Date: June 3, 2025

This memo is to inform you that Phase 1 of Project Phoenix has been successfully completed. To strategize for Phase 2, a mandatory team meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10th, at 10:00 AM in Conference Room B. Tom Maxwell will circulate the initial meeting agenda by COB today, outlining the key discussion points we need to cover. Your preparatory thoughts are welcome.

Later that day, Tom approached Lisa. 'Lisa,' he said, 'following Sarah's memo, I need to finalize and circulate the agenda for our June 10th Project Phoenix meeting. Could you lend your expertise in drafting it to ensure all critical Phase 2 topics are included?' Lisa responded, 'Of course, Tom. A well-structured agenda is vital for a productive session. I'll also be responsible for taking the official minutes during the meeting, so this helps me prepare as well. We must allocate time for reviewing outstanding action items and for assigning any new ones. Sarah, as the chairperson, will want to keep us on track. For significant decisions, we should note if a quorum is present, and if any proposals require a formal vote, we'll need to document each motion and its outcome accurately in the minutes.' Tom agreed, 'Excellent. Solid preparation with the agenda and diligent recording of minutes are key to our project's success.'

Comprehension Questions:

After reading the passage, answer the following questions:

What was the main purpose of the memo sent by Sarah Chen regarding Project Phoenix?
What two important documents related to the upcoming meeting were Tom and Lisa discussing, and what were their respective responsibilities for them?
Besides the main discussion topics, what other key elements did Lisa suggest should be part of the meeting process or documented in the minutes (mention at least two)?
Who was designated as the chairperson for the meeting, and what was one of her expected roles during the meeting?

Activity 4: Role Play - Reviewing Draft Meeting Minutes

Read the following dialogue with a partner. One person can be Mark (who drafted the minutes), and the other can be Emily (who is reviewing them).

Mark: Emily, could you please take a look at these draft minutes from yesterday's committee meeting before I circulate them to the attendees?

Emily: Sure, Mark. Let's see... The agenda items seem to be all covered systematically, which is good. Did we confirm if a quorum was officially present at the start?

Mark: Ah, good point. Yes, the chairperson, Mr. Davies, confirmed it right at the beginning. I should add that specific note to the minutes for formality.

Emily: Okay, that's important. And what about the motion proposed by Ms. Evans regarding the budget reallocation for the new project? Is the exact wording of the motion included?

Mark: I tried to capture it verbatim as she stated it. It was "to formally approve an additional allocation of $5,000 from contingency funds for the Q3 marketing initiatives." The motion was then seconded and passed unanimously.

Emily: Perfect, that's exactly how it should be recorded. And the action items that were assigned? Are they clearly detailed with responsible persons and deadlines? That's often the most crucial part of the minutes for follow-through.

Mark: Yes, each action item clearly lists who is responsible and the agreed-upon due date. For instance, I have an action item to draft a follow-up memo detailing these budget changes by next Friday.

Emily: That’s very clear. The chairperson also requested that the agenda for our next meeting includes a dedicated slot for reviewing the progress of these current action items.

Mark: Right, I'll make a note of that to include when preparing the next meeting agenda. These minutes seem fairly comprehensive otherwise, I hope.

Emily: They look very good, Mark. Once you add the specific note about the quorum being met, I think they should be perfectly ready to circulate to everyone.

Discuss Together:

After reading or performing the dialogue, discuss the following with a partner:

Why is it important for meeting minutes to be accurate and complete, especially regarding decisions, motions, and action items? What problems could arise from poorly written minutes?

Activity 5: Let's Practice - Document Essentials Quiz

Objective: Practice identifying and using key terms related to memos, agendas, and meeting minutes.

Scenario: Mr. Harrison (a manager) is quizzing Priya (a new team member) on her understanding of common business documents and meeting procedures.

Mr. Harrison: Good morning, Priya. Let's quickly review some key terms related to our internal communications and meetings. What do we call a short, official written note that is typically sent between people within the same organization to convey information or make a request?

Priya: That would typically be referred to as a , or memorandum.

Mr. Harrison: Correct. And the list of topics or items that are planned to be discussed at a specific meeting, usually in a set order?

Priya: That's the for the meeting, which helps keep us on track.

Mr. Harrison: Precisely. After a meeting has concluded, what do we call the official written record of what was discussed, what decisions were made, and who is assigned to do what?

Priya: Those are commonly called the meeting .

Mr. Harrison: And if a specific task is assigned to an individual or a group during the meeting, usually with an expectation of completion by a certain deadline, what do we call that assigned task?

Priya: That's known as an , and it should be clearly noted.

Mr. Harrison: Excellent. Who is the person generally responsible for guiding the meeting according to the agenda and ensuring that meeting protocols are followed?

Priya: That person is usually called the or simply the Chair.

Mr. Harrison: And what is the specific term for the minimum number of members that must be present at a meeting for its proceedings and decisions to be considered valid?

Priya: That's called achieving a for the meeting to proceed officially.

Mr. Harrison: Very good. If a formal proposal is put forward during a meeting for the members to discuss and then vote on, what is that proposal called?

Priya: That's generally referred to as a .

Mr. Harrison: And finally, when we send out an agenda before a meeting or the minutes after a meeting to all the relevant attendees or stakeholders, what verb best describes this act of distribution?

Priya: We would those documents to everyone involved.

Try to fill in the blanks with the correct words or phrases from Activity 2.