Better Note taking

Earlier:Meeting participationMeeting facilitationBrainstormDocumentation

Please take notes. Especially if you are in a meeting. Even if you have perfect memory. Because:

1. Taking notes is shortest way organize the information discussed, presented or proposed

2. Taking note comforts others in the room, and note are semi-formal documents to support your claims

But, most importantly, remember that you DON’T have a perfect memory. Nope. No one does.

People forget on an average:

50% of a meeting within 24 hours

80% in two weeks

95% within one month

Please do it with pen and paper*. Because:

1. A laptop, tab, or handheld device puts a screen between you and the rest, and is detrimental to interpersonal exchange

2. Pen and paper is much easier, at least till today, much easier to manipulate (try noting down a math formula or a bar chart using your virtual note taking tool… what is it? Microsoft word?)

Also, pen and paper creates a subliminal physical bonding between you and your notes, making it easier to retrieve when deciphering your notes.

This can be okay of you nottrying to put the device inother angle than 0⁰, flat,perfectly horizontal like paper

Also make sure than you don’thave facebook stuff on theside. If you are bored, revertback to good old doodling.

After fashion, landscape andnews photographers now wehave the new and improvedwhiteboard photographers.

But, how does thosephotographs tell you what thewords and squiggly linesmean? How does it help youto remember all theexplanation that was said andnot written on the board?

Bad news for all the aspiringsound recordists – those littledevices and you cell-phonerecording just doesn’t work.

Who will listen through 3hours of recording after sittingthrough the meeting for 3hours? Who will recognize allthose distant and faint voices?What happens when threevoices talk and you can’tunderstand a word in therecording?

Listen carefully. Missing the point is the biggest threat to the exercise of taking down point. There are simple techniques:

1. Observe the cues in a speaker for significance of the point (pausing, giving examples, repeating, increasing volume or pitch, using body language, even direct cues like – “this is important” or “please note”)

2. We don’t discuss or converse in a strictly organized manner, therefore it is important to keep track of the discussion flow (i.e. what are we discussing now?)

3. Words and images are carriers of concepts, do not misrepresent them. If the speaker says – “opportunities” – don’t record “chances” or “opening” in your notes. Missing the word is often missing the point.

Judge the content, notdelivery. Find out whatthe speaker knows, nothow he presents it.

Resist distractions. Amatter of concentration.

Try to make and keepeye contacts. How elseare you going to observethose subtle visual andemotional cues?

Be an active listener. Ask questions, ask for a repetition if you have really missed a big point, seek clarity, compare one statement with another:

1. What is she/he saying; what does it really mean?2. How does that relate to what he said before?3. Where is he going; what’s the point he’s trying to make?4. How is that helpful; how can I use this?5. Does this make any sense?6. Am I getting the whole story?7. How does this relate to what I already know?8. Is she/he leaving anything out?9. How does this relate to what I already know?10. Do I understand what he’s saying or should I ask for clarification?

Avoid common mistakes. Here is how:

1. Avoid taking notes chronologically (first point spoken is the first point discussed, then the second point discussed, then third point discussed…). Unfortunately, you meeting participants do not discuss the first logical point first, then the second logical point and so on. If they go back-and-forth (they will) you will be lost (you are usually)

2. Avoid taking notes into a pre-decided format. Sorry, to inform, your meeting participants don’t care for your format, and anything that is discussed outside the format remains outside the notes. Often that means almost everything is left outside the notes.

Protips:Look for key-words and verbatim quotes (note them within quote-unquote marks)

Use non-linear techniques. Don’t be intimidated by the bid word. It’s rather easy

(Per minute)Speed of though: >500 wordsSpeed of speech: >200 wordsSpeed of writing (shorthand): >100 wordsSpeed of writing (longhand): >20 wordsSpeed of writing (copying): >12 words

Speech Thought Note

Process information at the speed of thought, not at the speed of the

speaker or your handwriting

• Try to club together whatever information you are taking down in main trunks

• Fork out the clubbing at your convenience as branches• Keep adding new trunks and new branches as

more points appear• Interlink the points, branches and trunks by use of

• Arrows and lines• Or zones drawn around trunks/branches

Don’t worry about which is which (i.e. trunk, branch, zone, whetever etc.) , as long you get the idea

Mind mapping format

Clubs

Forks

Zones

Famous User

Spidergram style

Tricks: Use different colours like:Blue for general notesBlack for explanations, details, anecdotesGreen for quotesRed for action points

More examples

Vertical flow style

Example from marketing notes

• Divide your page into different zones, use them for particulars you need

Remember, each of us has our own needs, and hence our own unique style of zoning Notes on notes/

Questions,investigations, points to ponder/ to-do list, action points

Main flow of the discussion/ critical information, references, values

Colonel university system

Summary, take out/ key points, highlights

Tricks: Use symbols like:

□ A square checkbox denotes a to do item⃝ A circle indicates a task to be assigned to someone else* An asterisk is an important fact? A question mark goes next to items to research or ask about

Famous User

Oxford format

Sketchnotes

In a global survey it was found that people don’t like taking notes because they are boring

But…The don’t need to be

Jazz up. It also makes things easier to understand and remember.

Basic tools

Compare as much as possible. Particularly with people who surely brought a different perspective to the meeting:

1. You may have missed a point2. You may missed the IMPORTANCE of a point

Comparing with your peers is also very helpful. Please, do not ignore what they took down in a meeting.

Review as soon as possible. A highly important part of great note taking is great follow up. Review way before you forget:

1. The shortcuts, colour codes, squiggly lines and other symbols/markings you used in the notes

2. Explanation of the points, or which point is related to which other point, or which point is more significant than which other point and so on

The best review is a report/ meeting minute/ memo. That’s more skill to learn.

Do not share unedited notes. Please, understand that only you know the meaning of all those squiggly line and arrows and asterisks. Please consider the struggle the reader will have trying to find which point follows which point, and what is most important.

If someone ever agrees to read your raw notes and work on it, remember to by that person a lunch, a shirt and a nice box of chocolates, not forget birthday cards and uncommon booze on your way back from vacation… a couple of concert tickets for Bryan Adams, and a gift voucher to Vasavi would not hurt either.

Further:Visual Note TakingMeeting minutesMemosReport writing

Thank you