Pro Tips for Taking Meeting Notes |
Posted: July 20, 2022 |
Whatever the purpose of your next meeting, taking notes will help you come out of the meeting with a clear plan of action. Here’s what to know about meeting note-taking, and how to set yourself up for success. Remember, taking notes is not the same as taking minutes. Minutes list attendees of the meeting, decisions made during the meeting, and action steps. Minutes are for the official use of the attendees, but your meeting notes are all yours. They may have some similarities to meeting minutes, but how you organize them and use them in your work is up to you. 3 Expert Methods to Use for InspirationNote-taking methods and templates help you take better notes without reinventing the wheel. Here are four of the most successful note-taking strategies to try for your next meeting. Adopt one method entirely, or customize an approach from all four, whatever makes you feel confident and prepared.
The Cornell University note-taking system is an Ivy League approach to note-taking for meetings and courses. Its 5 steps are: Record the fundamentals. You don't need to write everything down. Keep it simple, highlighting key points. Decide how you will write and organize your notes. Try to limit your highlights to two to three sentences per point. Write any ideas or questions that come to mind during the meeting. Write any personal to-do lists and deadlines that you need to remember. For example, here’s how you might take notes on an upcoming presentation: Client-Facing Presentation: Competitors
Even though you’re taking notes in each meeting, it can be helpful to have an audio recording just in case. Just remember to get the consent of all attendees before recording and stop recording when the meeting is adjourned. If you prefer not to record, you can consult the meeting minutes for a written record of action steps. Reduce with a summary. Tie up loose ends and edit your notes. You may want to add them to a Word Doc or Google Doc. Highlight your most important information, and condense the overall notes into something you can remember easily. You can always make a copy of the original notes document and trim the copy, in case you need to reference the more detailed version in the future. Rewrite your thoughts. If you need to focus on retention, rewriting your notes is helpful. Writing by hand is shown to help with improving memory and recall. You might also improve how your thoughts are organized when you revisit them. Keep all your rewrites and updates on one topic in the same place. If you write a lot of notes, it may be helpful to use a smart notebook. Reusable notebooks let you organize your notes and store them in the cloud. When you’re done, just wipe the notebook clean and reuse it, It’s convenient, and a nice way to reduce your carbon footprint. Reflect on next steps. After you’ve had a chance to process the information, it’s time to reflect.
This process allows you to focus on and condense the most important information even further, which will only sharpen your focus on upcoming meetings and projects. Review everything. The last step in the Cornell Method is an important one: review all your work, Check and recheck. Have you recorded your deadlines and milestones? Set dates and reminders in your calendar. Update any database/files or folders relevant to tasks you’ve completed or updated during the meeting. If your tasks are client-facing, your CRM database has ample documentation tools and resources to guide this process.
If you’re a visual learner, mind mapping may be a more accessible note-taking method than traditional outlining. Also known as concept mapping, mind mapping involves creating a series of “spider diagrams” or “thought trees”. The central points are short phrases, questions, or ideas written in circles or boxes. Related ideas branch off from there, and those ideas can have their own branches. Your end result is a visual representation of how meeting ideas were organized. You can easily glance at a mind map or spider diagram to refresh your memory on what’s next, who’s doing what, and how everything your team is working on is connected. Another great thing about mind mapping is how easy it is to do within a larger outline. You can find mind map generators that integrate well with note-taking tools you’re already using, create mind maps in the document with editing tools, or jot down a mind map in your smart notebook.
To take notes with the Quadrant Method, divide your page into 4 squares with the following headings: Questions, Notes, To-Dos and Assign. Then, add relevant notes and next steps to each quadrant during the meeting. Here’s an example of quadrant notes:
Next Level Note-TakingTo make the most of your note-taking, decide which parts of the expert methods work best for you.
More than likely, different meetings will call for different methods. If your team often collaborates on notes, you’ll likely learn multiple methods. Remember: your notes are for you. Use what works, skip what doesn’t, and keep moving forward.
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