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Description

Notes and Minutes: Summarising Live, Structuring and Circulating Fast

Organise information as it arrives so you can produce a summary without rewriting everything

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Time is not lost during the meeting but afterwards: scattered notes that have to be reworked from scratch, an outline to rebuild and a document circulated two days too late. As long as the structure is not set while you are listening, the writing stage repeats the entire analysis.

Two days to structure information at the very moment you hear it: note-taking grids prepared in advance, live prioritisation, reduction techniques and a fast route from notes to a circulated document. The emphasis is on production speed and on the reliability of the record.

Learning objectives

  • Prepare a note-taking grid suited to the meeting ahead
  • Prioritise information while listening
  • Reduce a long discussion to its key ideas
  • Move from notes to a structured document without a full rewrite
  • Circulate minutes on the day of the meeting

What makes this programme different

Note-taking grids prepared for four types of meeting
Timed reduction exercises from long to short
A circulation-ready set of minutes produced in under an hour

Programme

1Preparing Your Note-Taking

Structure before the meeting

  • Analyse the agenda and anticipate the headings
  • Build a note-taking grid ready to be filled in
  • Adapt the grid to project meetings, committees and interviews
  • Prepare your vocabulary and abbreviations

2Structuring While Listening

Sorting at the moment you hear

  • Identify the key ideas beneath the digressions
  • File information under the planned headings
  • Distinguish fact, opinion, decision and action
  • Note the items to be verified after the session
  • Keep pace when the discussion accelerates

3Summarising

From long to short

  • Group ideas together and remove redundancies
  • Reformulate a contribution in a single sentence
  • Reduce a text step by step without losing its meaning
  • Choose a reporting structure suited to the reader
  • Write an opening executive summary

4Producing and Circulating Fast

Same day

  • Move from the grid to the document without rewriting everything
  • Use a reusable minutes template
  • Format for fast reading
  • Have sensitive points validated in a few minutes
  • Circulate and archive straight away

Who is it for

This programme is designed for administrative professionals and project officers as well as anyone required to report quickly on the content of meetings or interviews.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.