How to Take Meeting Notes Effectively

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When you’re having a one-on-one meeting with a client, or an audio conference call with several people, good note-taking skills are essential to keep on top of the information discussed. It can be difficult to remember details or keep track of meetings if you’re not able to effectively take notes. These tips can help you improve your note-taking skills so that you can attend more efficient, well-organized meetings in the future.

Choose a method to take notes that is suitable for you. There are many methods that you can use such as the Cornell method which divides your notes into two columns, one on the left and the other on the right. The idea is that the smaller column highlights key ideas from the meeting and the larger column goes into the finer details of each. You can then create a summary at end of the sheet to connect the various ideas.

Keep your notes simple. It can be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of taking notes, but you must to concentrate on what’s most important to ensure that your notes will be useful to those who review them later. Use shorthand or symbols instead of writing them completely. This will help you recognize your notes when you go back and review them.

It is ideal for your team to discuss their agenda prior to the time of the meeting in order to prepare an outline prior to the beginning of the meeting. This will save you the hassle of logging key elements of the meeting and will help you stay focused throughout the discussion.