How to Write the Recap for a Conference Call or Meeting
For more resources, check out a great piece from Time Doctor called 10 Smart Tips for Running a Productive Teleconference
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Facebook can see the world of social media in all directions.
Literally, the company has created a way for us to watch videos in all 360 degrees.
In a recent announcement, Facebook software developers explain they now use a VR (virtual reality) technology called cube-mapping. Stan Schroeder at Mashable says “the video is projected onto faces of a cube, with each face representing one direction relative to the viewer. This enables the viewer to see the video from all angles.”
Be on the lookout for more 360-degree videos in your News Feed. In the meantime, remember it’s also critical to see the total picture on the job.
Here’s an example. You’re on a conference call with several people and end up being the one who needs to recap the conversation via email. It’s important to then provide clear direction and address people by name when necessary. That way, everyone knows the marching orders and doesn’t need to reply to the email with all kinds of questions.
How to Write a Recap of a Conference Call or Meeting
Subject line: Recap of [conference call/meeting/phone call] on [month and day]
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your time [on the call/in the video chat/at the meeting].
[Use this space to give everyone a short summary of the meeting; for instance, “Quick recap of the meeting: the design phase of the construction project is on track, and now we need to turn our attention to the actual build.”]These are the action items [over the next few days/over the next week/moving forward]:
[Then, list out each update or action item as a bullet point. Let people absorb every piece of information one at a time so nothing is lost in a big paragraph. Let the words breathe.] [Whenever possible, call people out by name and put the name in yellow highlight. That way, the person will see what he/she needs to do.]For instance:
- Malcolm will talk with the general contractor about his timeline and the materials he will need for the brick courtyard.
- Heather said she can create the flyer to alert all the neighbors about upcoming construction.
- Dan and Beth will both work with city officials and the traffic engineer on securing the area for construction.
- Esther, can you send everyone the Excel document with the real estate estimates?
Thanks, and let’s keep pushing to get the project done.
Your first name
Email signature
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Be in control. See the situation from all angles. And, in doing so, send emails with impact.
Do you have any tips for conference calls or how to communicate once they’re over?
Share below!
Featured photo: Maurizio Pesce (Flickr)
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