How To Keep Minutes of Meetings

How To Keep Minutes of Meetings

www.asktenali.com

Minutes Writing

One of the professional activities we do at work is to attend meetings. Important decisions may be taken at meetings. 

Keeping track of what transpired in meetings is done through notes or records called Minutes.

This a formal written document keep record of meetings like when it was held, who attended, what decision were taken,   who is responsible and what  follow up actions are to be taken.

Minutes are usually of two types

Narrative Minutes

Decision Minutes

Tone and Tenor 

Minutes are crisp, clear and error free and usually written in past tense.

Numbering helps in for easy and effective reference

It is impersonal and clear.

The format of minutes taking should include the following

Purpose

Time Date

Name of Organization / Chair

Members present

Agenda 1.

1. Topic
2. Relevance Background
3. Discussion
4. Resolution/Decision
5. Action

Agenda 2.

1. Topic
2. Relevance Background
3. Discussion
4. Resolution/Decision
5. Action

Please repeat for additional agendas

Closing time

These details may be shared with other members also serves as reference point for future meetings.

www.asktenali.com

How to Write a Business Letter

How to Write a Business Letter

Written word is one of the most common forms of communication at work

Every type of business document should be written with utmost care and attention

Letters should be

Simple

Understood

Clear

Concise

Types of Business Communication

Letters, Memos, Reports and Proposals

Electronic mail

Regular and Special mail

Faxes

Bulletins, Notices, Circulars

Minutes of meetings

Letters should have 

Clarity

Completeness

Conciseness

Consistency

Correctness

Letter is a vital component of business writing although email spreading but it cannot replace letter in all situations. Letter give formality

Letter Appearance

Letter appearance is the physical condition of the letter which gives the first impression.

Letter Appearance

Spacing:

Letters should be single – spaced with double – spacing between paragraphs.

Typing should be neat

Errors should be erased.

Paragraphing

Paragraphs should be logical, precise and error free

White space: Adds to readability

Parts of Business Letter

1-letterhead

Official printed letter head

2-Dateline

Date on which the letter is being prepared

3-Inside Address

The address of the recipient

4-Attention line

This used to identify the specific recipient when it is addressed to the company or organization 

5-Salutation

Opening Greetings

We may use “dear madam or sir,”

If we know the recipient we may address him or her by name.

6-Subject line: The purpose of the letter is defined here

7-Body: This is the actual message or  content  of your letter

8-Complementary closing:

Courteous formal way to end a letter.

Examples: “Regards”, “Best Regards,”   

9-Company signature may be used where appropriate

10-Signer’s identification

The signature, name and title

11-Reference Initials

Consisting of the signer’s initials in capitals followed by a slash or colon followed by the typist’s lowercase initials

12-Enclosure

Mention the attachments

13- "cc” notation

Name the additional recipients if any

Happy Writings

www.asktenali.com

How to Write a Technical Article?

How to Write a Technical Article?

www.asktenali.com

As a student or professional we are asked to present or write a technical presentation or article.

Keep the following in mind while drafting or writing a technical article

The language you use should be crisp clear and error free.   

Avoid lengthy, complex paragraphs.   

Avoid use of passive voice.  

Make sure you read your article several times and use spell-check .

Never write an article on a topic without proper research and verification.  

The source of information should be impeccable and trustworthy.

A well written article should include the following details

 Title

Author

Abstract

Introduction

Methodology

The Body Conclusions/Summary/Results

 References

span style="font-size: x-large;">

More Articles

www.asktenali.com

Technical Vocabulary - Improve Your English

Technical Vocabulary

Improve Your English

Technical words are currently being used widely in English language. Understanding these words and terms are very important for students, professionals and others.These are technical,engineering,and medical words which have to be understood and used appropriately.

These words are also used in subjects, education,training, competitive and entrance examinations, civil services, medical entrance ,banking or any other sector.

Commonly used technical vocabulary have been compiled with answers and meaning in a user friendly manner.

www.asktenali.com

www.asktenali.com

1000 Crore Plus - What Makes a Movie Successful

1000 Crore Plus - What Makes a Movie Successful

1000 Crore Plus - What Makes a Movie Successful

"Babubali 2" and "Dangal" are two Indian movies which grossed more than 1000 crore rupees in box office collections. Before these movies any movie collecting more than 100 crores was considered a great success. Indian film industry produces a large number of movies  and in different languages. Few are successful. Many are failures. But these two movies have created history in both box office collection and popularity. Many popular consumer products and services have joined the marketing bandwagon.

What makes a movie successful and popular? What makes audiences get back to movie theaters? What is the role of story and narration? How to reach global audiences? What is the role of social media in marketing of movies.

Factors which play an important role in success of movies

1. Story / Narrative - Successful films have great stories or narratives to be told. A father and his dream (Dangal) or a warrior with kingdom intrigues ( Bahubali 2) had great narratives and connectivity with the audiences.

2. Values and Belief Systems. Movies which appeal or connect to the values and belief systems tend to be more appreciated or successful. 

Every generation needs value and belief reinforcement and appreciates values like bravery honesty, commitment, handwork, dedication, ethics among others. The father and his relationship with his daughters, a goal and it's achievement in spite of difficulties and their ultimate success was a very connecting narrative with audiences.    So was the warrior facing the difficulties and challenges of the kingdom intrigues and coming out victorious. These belief and value systems are  appreciated and valued by  civilizations with a history of kings and kingdoms (along with the mysteries and intrigues). Dangal had a successful run in China also.

3. Feel Good Factor. Every movie is like a consumer product which has certain features that  translate into benefits. These films had  a feel good narrative in the end. The success  of commitment and dedication or the win of good over  evil was a narrative which had a feel good factor .

4. Team and Team Work . A committed and dedicated team can create wonders. Both the movies had great teams working which had excellent skills and teamwork.

5. Marketing: Both films had excellent marketing plans and strategy which was executed successfully. The social media marketing strategy was well conceptualized and implemented. Today Social media like Facebook,Twitter, Instagram etc play an important role is spreading information and real time analysis.

6. Curiosity : Mystery, Suspense and Curiosity are factors which have universal psychological responses. These movies could generate curiosity and interest and sustain them through out the movies.

Bahubali 2 was promoted with a  curiosity factor like  - "Why did Katappa  kill Bahubali ?"

7. Globalization: Both the films were released globally  with multiple language translations. Even though the content was local, the value and belief system were global.The narrative appealed to people all across the world. The films were released in theaters globally and more people had access to the movie. Think locally but act globally .

8. Technology. Latest and relevant technology was used.The technology created excellent visuals and experiences which added to better audience responses and positive feedback.  Movies, Reviews and Trailers were available in multiple technology platforms which led to better promotion and marketing strategies.

Are You Looking For Finance or Scholarships for Higher Education?

2017-05-08

Employability and skilling of students and professionals is very important.

Many talented students drop out of the education system due to shortage of finance and financial resources

For those looking for financial loans and scholarships now can access a fully IT based Student Financial Aid Authority to administer and monitor Scholarship as well Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.

Author: Swaminathan

12 th Results CBSE 2017

About Vidya Lakshmi Portal

Employability and skilling of students and professionals is very important.

Many talented students drop out of the education system due to shortage of finance and financial resources

For those looking for financial loans and scholarships now can access a fully IT based Student Financial Aid Authority to administer and monitor Scholarship as well Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram. 

The IT based mechanism under the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram is expected to provide to students a single window electronic platform for Scholarships and Educational Loans."

Vidya Lakshmi is a first of its kind portal for students seeking Education Loan. This portal has been developed under the guidance of Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance) , Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).

The portal has been developed and being maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited. 

Students can view, apply and track the education loan applications to banks anytime, anywhere by accessing the portal. 

The portal also provides linkages to National Scholarship.

So go ahead.

Let finances not be a restraint to your dream career or educational degree.

12 th Results CBSE 2017

Leadership  Team Building  Corporate and Business  Etiquette   Communication Skills  Negotiation Skills   Time & Task Management 

English  Biology  Computers  QA Reasoning  GK   Chemistry  Maths  Physics  Botany  Economics  Geography  History

Great Online Courses

MIT Open Courseware Coursera   Khan University  edX  Udemy   AcademyEarth  Alison iTunesU  Stanford Online Harvard Extension Open Yale Courses  UC Berkely Class Central   Carnegie Melon Open Learning Initiative Code Academy  Code  University Of London Podcasts     University of Oxford Podcasts BBC PodcastsTED Ed  LessonPaths Memrise National Geography Kids Fun Brain Whyville  

Swaminathan Sankaran
(Motivational Speaker)
Asktenali

Chennai,
Tamilnadu India

The strange and curious case of the physically challenged driver (hearing impaired)

The strange and curious case of the physically  challenged driver (hearing impaired)

Original True Story
by 
Swaminathan Sankaran

The strange and curious case of the physically challenged driver (hearing impaired). A true story.

Recently I hired a cab service. After booking a service - I received the details of the driver and vehicle on my smart phone.

As I glanced through the details I noticed a tag. It triggered my curiosity.  I read it again. It was about the driver. 

It mentioned, “Please note - the driver is deaf or hard of hearing”.

Somewhere my social consciousness got triggered. Impressed to know that individuals with such difficulties rather than blaming their disabilities have empowered themselves and are also active in professions where even normal people have difficulties in maneuvering the difficult traffic conditions of Indian cities.

The cab arrived. I approached the driver. Several questions propped up in my mind. Can he hear me? How will he understand the instructions to be provided by me or by others (in case of difficult locations to be identified or traced)? Can he drive safely? How does he handle irate drivers who tend to honk at the drop of hat?

As I approached the cab the driver wished me. I sat next to the driver. (I thought it was safer to be at the front seat than back seat – and if I had to convey any directions then I will have access to his eyes in case -  lip reading is required).

The driver started the cab. And we cruised along the busy highway.

Suddenly a phone rang. It was the driver’s phone. The driver pulled over and stopped the car.  It was a call from his wife. He answered the phone. He had a brief and intense talk with wife. He finished the call. He apologized for any inconvenience he might have caused to me.

I was shocked! The driver could hear and talk! No sign of any disability in hearing skills!

I was confused ….I was shocked.

Hesitatingly, I approached the driver with an intention to clear the confusion.  Curiously I asked him - Can you hear? Do you have any impairment in hearing?

/div>

The driver was perplexed. He probably did not understand the question or why this question was being asked.

I repeated the question. Can you hear?

The driver - Yes! Why? I can hear perfectly. What made you think I cannot hear or my hearing is impaired?

I showed him the tag and other details sent by his company.

Now it was the turn of the driver. He was shocked.

He said,” I am healthy and perfectly well in hearing skills. I can talk well and hear well”.

I asked him …if you are not having any impairment in hearing then why the company tagged him as a person with hearing challenges?

The driver was perplexed. He said that he did not know about the tag. For him it was a revelation.

Now I was curious and started probing. Was there any miscommunication with the company? Had he inadvertently provided wrong information about his physical fitness? 

As we cruised along………he started opening up. 

"Sir….there was this problem with my company regarding my remuneration" … and that he had several arguments with the company regarding this.

I got the answer!

The finance executive at the cab company had several arguments with this driver. He had tried explaining and having failed to make the driver understand and probably got angry at the driver for not listening to his point of view. 

In exasperation and anger the executive had tagged him… 




"Driver is deaf or hard of hearing. Hearing impaired"!

S.Swaminathan is a Power Motivator, Author, Motivational Speaker, Soft Skills and Corporate Trainer, HRD Consultant and Director – Asktenali.com. He has held several senior management, positions in the Information Technology Industry.

www.asktenali.com

 Hindi Articles

S.Swaminathan is a Power Motivator, Author, Motivational Speaker, Soft Skills and Corporate Trainer, HRD Consultant and Director – Asktenali.com. He has held several senior management, positions in the Information Technology Industry.

English  Biology  Computers  QA Reasoning  GK   Chemistry  Maths  Physics  Botany  Economics  Geography  History

Leadership  Team Building  Corporate and Business  Etiquette   Communication Skills  Negotiation Skills   Time & Task Management

Great Online Courses

MIT Open Courseware Coursera   Khan University  edX  Udemy   AcademyEarth  Alison  iTunesU  Stanford Online Harvard Extension Open Yale Courses  UC Berkely Class Central   Carnegie Melon Open Learning Initiative Code Academy  Code  University Of London Podcasts     University of Oxford Podcasts BBC Podcasts TED Ed  LessonPaths Memrise National Geography Kids Fun Brain Whyville