If you’re in a one-on-1 meeting with a client or a conference call that involves several people, good note-taking skills are vital for keeping on top of the information being discussed. If you’re struggling to take effective notes, it can be difficult to keep track with the meeting as a whole or remember important details when you return to your desk. This article will aid you in improving your note-taking abilities, to ensure you attend more efficient and organized meetings in the future.
Choose a note-taking method that is most suitable for you. There are several common methods to consider for note-taking, including the Cornell method which divides your notes into two columns one on the left and the one on the right. The idea is that the smaller column is a good way to highlight key ideas from the meeting, while the larger column goes into the finer details of each. You can then create a summary at bottom of the page to tie everything in.
Keep your notes simple. It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of taking notes, but you need to focus on what’s important https://boardroomschool.com/what-are-board-meeting-minutes/ for your notes to be useful to those who will be able to read them later. Make use of shorthand or symbols instead of writing them exactly as you wrote them down. This makes it easier to recognize your notes when you go back to them and read them.
It is ideal for your team to be able to share their agenda prior to the time of the meeting so that you can draw up an outline prior the start of the meeting. This will help you avoid the hassle of recording important aspects of the meeting and allow you to stay focused throughout the discussion.