In a one-on-1 meeting with a client, or an audio conference call with several participants, effective note-taking skills are vital for keeping on top of the information discussed. If you’re struggling to take effective notes, it can be difficult to keep up with the entire meeting or remember important details once you return to your desk. This article will help you improve your note taking skills, so that you can attend more effective and well-organized meetings in the future.
Choose a method of taking notes that suits you. There are a variety of methods that you can use, such as the Cornell method that divides 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 the most important ideas of the meeting, while the larger column goes into the finer details of each. Then, at the bottom of the page, you can jot down a quick summary to connect it all.
Keep your notes simple. It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of taking notes, but it is important to concentrate on what’s important to ensure that your notes will be useful to those who review them later. Use symbols or shorthand instead of reciting verbatim. This will make it easier to remember your notes when it comes time to go back and examine them.
It is ideal for your team to share their meeting agenda prior to the time of the meeting so that you can create an outline prior to the start of the meeting. This will eliminate the trouble of recording key points in the meeting and help you stay focused throughout the discussion.
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