a) Types of Meetings: 

• Public meetings 
• Business meetings.

Public Meetings: are those meetings which are open to the members of the public in general. These are generally held at some public place like a park or public hall. The purpose of these meetings may be to propagate some knowledge or belief. Notice of such meetings is served by announcements in the newspapers or by posters etc. Civic reception meetings, political meetings etc are examples of the public meetings.

Business Meetings: are those meetings which are held by private bodies or associations of persons and in which affairs or business of the private body concerned are discussed. These are open to those persons only who are the members of that body or those who have been invited to attend. 

Business meetings may be classified as:

i) General Meetings 

ii) Committee or Sub-committee meetings

General Meetings: are those meetings which are open to all the members of the body or organization concerned. At such meetings, the general business of the organization is transacted and discussed. These meetings could be Ordinary (Annual General Meeting) or Extra Ordinary or Emergency (in case of emergency or contingency). It is mandatory for all the business organizations to have an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in which annual accounts are presented and passed, past activities are reviewed and future plans are approved.

Committee Meetings: are the meetings in which only concerned or elected members are invited. Governing Body Meeting, Board of Directors or Specific Committees (like Sales Committee, Canteen Committee or Finance Committee etc.) are examples of such meetings.

b) Minutes of Meeting: The term „Minutes‟ in literal sense means a note to preserve the memory. In relation to meetings, minutes may be defined as a record of the proceedings of the meeting and are kept to preserve a brief, accurate and clear record of the business transacted.

The minutes of any meeting serves as an official record of what took place i.e. the points discussed and decisions taken during any meeting. One must be very accurate in doing so.