How to Take Meeting Notes: Save Time With These 2 Unconventional Methods

It might seem easy, but how to take meeting notes is a valuable and under-rated skill.  Below we talk about:

• Why Meeting Notes Matter
• The Basics of how to take meeting notes
• Symbolic Method of taking meeting notes
• Quadrant Method of taking meeting notes

Why Taking Good Meeting Notes Matters

• Taking good notes makes the rest of us think you are on top of your game.
• Good meeting notes help you stay on top of what decisions were made and who agreed to do what by when.
• Good meeting notes are a historical record of
  • decisions or agreements that were made
  • why they were made
  • who is responsible for what.

The Basics of How to Take Good Meeting Notes

• Don’t record everything that you hear or see. Focus on topics, decisions, actions and maybe only the important facts that led to these.
• Listen for clues and cues, and ask for clarity.
• Leave lots of white space for later additions to your thoughts.
• Use positive language.
• Be objective. Avoid inflammatory or personal observations. The fewer adjectives or adverbs you use, the better.
• Boring writing is the key to appropriate notes.
• Notes should consist of key words, or very short sentences
• Have a uniform system of punctuation, abbreviation and symbols that will make sense to you.
• In most situations, you will want to take notes with a pen and paper, not a laptop.

The Symbolic Method of Taking Meeting Notes

• Indent the pages of your notes in from the left margin. Then, use a simple system of symbols to categorize information types in the column space left in the margin.

[ ] A square checkbox denotes a to do item

( ) A circle indicates a task to be assigned to someone else

* An asterisk or star is an important fact

? A question mark goes next to items to research or ask about

• After the meeting, a quick vertical scan of the margin area makes it easy to add tasks to your to do list and calendar, send out requests to others, and further research questions.
• (This method is the brainchild of Michael Hyatt.)

The Quadrant Method of Taking Meeting Notes

Split your note-taking page into quadrants and record different kinds of information – like questions, reference and to-do’s – into the separate areas on the page.

3 Things to Remember about How to Take Good Meeting Notes

1. Be attentive.  Make sure you pay attention
2. Look to be as brief as possible
3. Be action oriented.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about How to Take Meeting Notes (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):