Descriptive reports are a good starting point for reviewing reports, because they are the foundation for the more complex and challenging analytical and persuasive reports. The first of nine descriptive reports for review is the meeting summary, also known as meeting minutes, so dreaded because junior associates are usually responsible for writing about what transpired at a meeting dominated by senior staff. How do they write about a difference of opinion between two executives on a critical project? How should they know what to include and what to delete in a report of a seemingly interminable meeting?
More than five years ago, I included a meeting review template on this blog. It basically includes these points:
- Opening – date, time, site, attendees, manager, and purpose of meeting
- Discussion – for each agenda item: issue discussed, action item, owner, timeline
- Closing – date, site, site, attendees, manager, and purpose of next meeting, invitation to amend meeting review
