Everyone knows the word protocol. 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 to them. What is a protocol? We will find out below.
The meaning of the concept of protocol
As a considerable number of other terms, this word has several meanings. It all depends on the field of activity in which the desired concept is applied. So, consider the most common situations when it is customary to talk about the protocol.
If we are talking about the business environment, then the protocol is a document describing the event (meeting, meeting, board of directors, etc.).
We already mentioned above about the police, who also often draw up a similar document. In this case, the fact of a crime or an offense is implied.
In the international format, a protocol is a set of rules that should be followed in official meetings between government officials and diplomatic officials. For example, there is a protocol of meetings between heads of state or 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 pass officially, taking into account the appointed time and only in the office building. 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 protocol is kept by a secretary or other person with such authority. In order to keep up with the conversation, try to find out an approximate list of issues that will be discussed at the meeting. The presence of a voice recorder will not be superfluous, so as not to miss the details, because the protocol is a very detailed description of a business event.
The names of those present as well as absent should be recorded. For yourself, you can make notes regarding the location of everyone who came to the meeting, so that the authorship of certain words can be indicated without errors.
At the beginning of each meeting, the order of consideration of issues is determined, be sure to write it down verbatim.
If the meeting had a vote, then indicate its results (how many people voted in favor and how many voted against). In the event that there was a small number of people present at the meeting, you also have the opportunity to note the names and surnames of all the voters.
Do not put off the execution of the protocol in a long box, because during this time you can forget the details of the meeting.
Negotiation protocol
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 fix all the nuances of the conversation and the requirements of the parties. The issue that is not always considered is resolved immediately after the first negotiations, so directors or other employees need time and complete information about the meeting.
The protocol of negotiations is drawn up on the same principle as any business document.
It must indicate the date of the described event, the document number and the full name. The following is an introduction, which necessarily indicates the list of attendees and the main issues for discussion.
In the main part, 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. Also, in some cases, an extract from the protocol is duplicated, duplicating a certain part of it.
