Are written words as important as spoken words?

Meetings require and generate a significant amount of information that must be shared in writing before, during, and after the meeting.

Before the meeting

First of all, before holding a meeting, there is an agenda that must be drawn up, which contains both the topics, guidelines and information that must be included to facilitate the meeting.  Above all, the agenda helps participants to be well prepared for their meeting.

In my opinion, properly writing the agenda is of the utmost importance. The content will set the tone for each topic. If you forget a word in a sentence, it will take on a whole new meaning. It is therefore essential to include the right elements.

During the meeting

During the meeting, note-taking should be done by a pre-identified person and ideally in a spirit of involvement of the participants. Alternate this task between team members when it is a recurring meeting. However, since everything happens at the speed of the speaker, it becomes difficult to transcribe everything word by word. Is it necessary to write everything down? The best approach is to take notes of what we think is important and use a meeting management solution, such as Beenote, and enable voice recording to help complete the minutes later.

After the meeting

Once the meeting has been completed, the minutes now need to be written up so that they can be made readily available for future consultations. The minutes will also provide references or evidence in specific contexts.

Although most meetings are face-to-face (real or virtual) and all discussions are verbal, the preparation and conclusion of the meeting remain in writing. There is an old adage that says: words fly away, but the written word remains.

It is with this understanding of the importance of the written word that we have chosen to partner with Druide, publisher of the Antidote solution.  Antidote is integrated with Beenote in order to make the quality of writing better when writing the agenda and minutes of your meetings.

Our verdict: written words or spoken words?

At Beenote, however, we believe that both forms of communication are equally important and complementary and must be of the highest possible quality. To conclude, to answer our original question, in a meeting context, the written word is as important as the spoken word.

Louis Turmel

Serial Technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in managing and marketing of new technology. Beenote, 1st paperless meeting management portal for boards, committees and their teams.

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