When people take time from their busy schedules for business meetings, it's important to make each meeting as productive as possible. As an administrative assistant, you can improve meeting management by organizing them efficiently, providing information beforehand, and taking and sharing effective minutes.

One way to make meetings more productive is send out the agenda and background information as early as possible. Microsoft Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 templates can get you started on meeting planning so that people know what to expect and can come prepared. A preplanned, written agenda simplifies your note-taking, keeps the meeting on track, and reminds you of the information that you need to record.

After the meeting, it's easy to share notes in Word 2003 or OneNote 2003  — you can print them, send them in e-mail messages, or post them online. When you take notes for the meeting and share them afterward, you not only free attendees and presenters from having to take notes, you also know that everyone has the same version. You'll also have a record of crucial information, such as action item assignments and group decisions for later reference.

The following information and tools can help you make meetings more efficient and productive.

• Manage meetings effectively (Article)
  Learn about organizing effective meetings, following up, and keeping records and notes.
• Take notes, keep notes, all in one place (Demo)
  See how OneNote can help you take organized notes — and to search for them later.
• Get the look you like with OneNote stationery (Demo)
  Apply stationery styles in OneNote, or create your own custom stationery.
• Make an appointment or meeting private (Article)
  Use Outlook features to keep appointment, contact, or task details private.
• Informal Meeting Agenda (Template)
  Get a head start on your meeting notes with this Word agenda template.
• Formal Meeting Agenda (Template)
  Simplify note-taking for corporate meetings that follow formal rules of order by using this Word template.
• Meeting minutes (Template)
  Use Word to track meeting roles, attendees, and other items.
• Meeting agenda (Template)
  Take notes and keep track of your meeting action items with InfoPath.