Taking minutes used to mean the scribbling down of whatever goes on in a meeting by some poor designated soul who had to learn shorthand very fast as well as knowing who everyone was and their position, even if they've never met them before. All this has changed with the paperless office - so here's some new ideas on how to take minutes.

Forget the pen and paper

Even if you DO know shorthand, chances are that the minutes will have to be typed up if you handwrite them, so why not start as you mean to go on, while saving time by bringing a small laptop into the meeting with you? This will have further advantages that tie in to the other tips suggested here, but the advantages are obvious - less typing up, auto spellchecking, and being able to delete anything you get wrong on the fly instead of scribbling lines through it.

Knowing who people are

If you're taking minutes at a meeting and there are some attendees whose names you have forgotten, why not Google them if you've got an internet connection on the laptop? Or if you have access to your company directory or Global Address List, you can search there during the meeting, too. Alternatively, if you're really stuck, email someone's Blackberry and say "remind me who that is sat next to you?" - clever and avoiding the embarrassment of being forgetful.

Dual use of the laptop

These days laptops are omnipresent in meetings for use in presentations, for PowerPoint, or for hooking up to a projector to play audio and video. When it's not being used for minutes, you can also make the meeting more interesting by using its powers as a presentation tool. You could even go one step further and communicate via webcam/video conference with someone who wanted to come to the meeting (and whom usually you'd be giving apologies for in the minutes) but who can now participate, vote, and second motions remotely.

Instant research

Rather than creating a "to do" list for things to be clarified after the meeting (for example, getting a number from the company accounts five years ago), if you were using technology such as a laptop or PDA, you can have it at your fingertips. More instant information means less work to do after the meeting, and that can only be a good thing, right?

Immediate distribution of the minutes

In the past, minutes were written up, edited and distributed in paper form. Why not, at the end of the meeting, do this straight away? Then other people can help amend, write up and clarify the minutes rather than you having to engage in emailing them back and forth for the information. It's also fresh in everyone's minds straight after the event, so it would be a better time to do it.

In conclusion - throw that open and paper away! There's also the positive environmental impact of both typing and handing out the minutes electronically. If you can reduce your workload as well as your carbon footprint, you're on to a winning way of taking minutes.