Just when I thought I covered all the potential problems with verbatim (word-for-word) minutes (see May 2002 newsletter at http://www.elimina.com/newsletters ), my colleague Steve Glanstein from Hawaii sent me a few more interesting points:

Verbatim minutes lend themselves to political posturing, with individuals trying to prove they were “on the right side of history” by taking a certain position.  This flies in the face of the principle that – once a decision is made – it is not a majority decision but a Board decision.  The minority is duty-bound to respect and accept the decision and move on.  The more words are contained in the minutes, the more awkward it is for elected officials to back away from unwise positions they had taken.  After all, “it’s all on the record”…  Is the organization well served by this?  Not likely.

Verbatim minutes capture only the words spoken, when in fact the complete message includes body language and vocal intonation.  To fully understand what someone meant, non-verbal communication has to be taken into account.  In addition, most individuals are anything but perfect at articulating their views clearly, concisely, and coherently.  Many tend to ramble, repeat themselves, and not finish their sentences.  Therefore, verbatim minutes are bound to present only a portion of what people meant.  This makes such minutes deceiving and misleading.

Verbatim minutes make it appear as though the words are much more important than the collective actions.  After all, such minutes contain a mountain of words and only a small portion of them records the decisions made by the group.  This proportion can be perceived to mean something.

In organizations that come under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, most minutes are open to the public for viewing (except for minutes taken during closed or “in-camera” meetings).  Recording every word stated can cause embarrassment. 

Here are a few other dilemmas:  If you record every word uttered, how do you record it when two individuals speak at the same time or keep interrupting each other?  What do you do if they use profanities and inappropriate language?  What if they tell the stories of vacations they had taken?

The clear conclusion is that verbatim minutes should be avoided.  Instead, you should focus on the action.  If it is desirable to capture the thought process that led to the decisions, this should be done in concise and objective point-form, without any reference to who said what.