Senior leaders judge an assistant or secretary largely by the paper that leaves the office. Poorly structured emails, inconsistent letters and incomplete minutes cost time, create disputes about what was agreed and weaken the image of the whole organisation. Employers increasingly look for administrative professionals who can draft on behalf of an executive and keep a reliable record of decisions.

The Executive Business Writing & Minute Taking Training Course addresses both skills in one programme. It begins with the principles of clear writing: purpose, audience, structure, vocabulary and tone. Participants then apply them to the documents executives use daily, including correspondence, briefing notes, proposals and reports, and learn proofreading methods that catch errors before they are sent.

The later days focus on minutes. Participants practise preparing for a meeting, reading the agenda and papers beforehand, capturing discussion and separating decisions from debate. They compare formats for action, resolution and verbatim minutes, and learn how chairs approve them and how follow-up is tracked. Daily exercises use realistic scenarios and recorded role-play meetings, with individual feedback to help each person build a polished and confident style.

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

• Plan business documents around the purpose and needs of the reader.
• Write concise emails, letters and memos in a professional tone.
• Produce executive summaries and short reports with a logical structure.
• Edit and proofread to remove errors, jargon and unnecessary words.
• Prepare agendas, notices and papers for formal meetings.
• Take effective notes and convert them into accurate minutes.
• Record actions, owners and deadlines and follow them up.
• Handle confidential information with discretion.

This programme will help anyone who writes for senior people or records their meetings, including:

• Executive assistants and personal assistants
• Administrative and executive secretaries
• Board and committee secretaries
• Company secretarial and governance officers
• Office managers and administration officers
• Records and registry staff
• Communications and programme officers who prepare briefings
• Junior managers who draft for directors

Participants finish with:

• Reusable templates for letters, memos, briefing notes and emails.
• A proofreading checklist they can apply to every document.
• A minute-taking template with action tracker for their meetings.
• Corrected samples of their own writing with tutor comments.
• Techniques for note-taking under pressure.
• A personal plan for sustained improvement.

Skills are built by doing, supported by:

• Short writing tasks completed and marked during each session
• Before-and-after editing of genuine workplace documents
• Recorded mock meetings from which groups produce minutes
• Tutor and peer feedback on style, accuracy and layout
• A take-home pack of templates and phrase banks

Attendance at all sessions and submission of the written exercises lead to a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion, awarded by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.