The word protocol is on everyone's lips. Office workers regularly hear it during meetings, police officers use it in their professional activities, and heads of state and diplomats are forced to adhere to the rules dictated by him. What is a protocol? We will find out below.
Meaning of protocol
Like many other terms, this word has several meanings. It all depends on the field of activity in which the desired concept is applied. So, let's look at the most common situations when it is customary to talk about the protocol.
When it comes to the business environment, the protocol is a document describing the event that is taking place (meeting, meeting, board of directors, etc.).
We have already mentioned above about the police, who also often draw up a similar document. In this case, the establishment of the fact of a crime or offense is implied.
In the international format, the protocol is a set of rules that should be followed during official meetings between government officials, as well as diplomatic figures. For example, there is a protocol of meetings of the headsstates or paying a visit to the President.
However, in this article we will focus on the concept of business protocols.
Meeting minutes
Business meetings are an integral part of all processes in a business environment. They can take place officially, taking into account the appointed time and only in the office. Informal business dates are also very popular. In the second case, you can do without protocol confirmation of the conversation. If the meeting is official, then it must be in writing in accordance with all the rules.
The minutes are kept by the secretary or other person with such authority. To keep up with the flow of the conversation, try to figure out a rough list of questions that will be discussed at the meeting. It would also be useful to have a voice recorder so as not to miss the details, because the protocol is a very detailed description of a business event.
The names of those present and those absent should be recorded. For yourself, you can make notes regarding the location of everyone who came to the meeting in order to indicate the authorship of certain words without errors.
At the beginning of each meeting, the order in which the questions will be considered is determined, be sure to write it down verbatim.
If there was a vote at the meeting, then indicate its results (how many people voted "for" and how many voted "against"). In the case when there were a small number of those present at the meeting, you have the opportunity to also mark the names and surnames of all those who voted.
Don't delayfiling the protocol on the back burner, because during this time you can forget the details of the meeting.
Minutes of negotiations
Negotiations differ from a regular business meeting in that they usually discuss one or a couple of issues that play a big role for both parties. In this case, the protocol is an opportunity to record all the nuances of the conversation and the requirements of the parties. The issue under consideration is not always resolved immediately after the first negotiations, so the directors or other employees need time and complete information about the meeting.
The protocol of negotiations is drawn up according to the same principle as any business document.
It is necessary to indicate the date of the described event, the document number and the full version of the title. This is followed by an introduction, which necessarily indicates the list of those present and the main issues for discussion.
In the main part, the information is usually divided into three parts: “Listened”, “Speaked”, “Decided”. In the full version of the protocol, the words of all speakers are quoted verbatim. In some cases, an extract from the protocol is also issued, duplicating a certain part of it.
