Taking notes
It is always surprising to me that almost everyone I bring to the office for an interview never takes notes. Here are some thoughts on note taking. First the motivation for note taking in a meeting followed by some tips.
Six Good Reasons Why to Take Notes in Meetings:
- Improves listening skills: When a person is taking notes (s)he is actively listening and trying to recognize main points and important things to record.
- Your mind will not wonder off: If you believe that there are benefits to be had from the meeting then you need to be focused. Taking notes helps you in maintaining that focus. It is much harder to daydream when you are taking notes.
- Because people forget: in Arabic the word 'human' translates to 'Insan' which is a derived from forgetfulness. We just forget. The only way to ensure follow-up items and to-dos are not lost is to write them down.
- Promotes accountability: When notes are taken one cannot simply say 'I did not know about this' or 'I forgot that' as a result it is more likely that a task is executed if it is recorded. In addition, When notes are taken it is more likely that follow-up will happen than if no record of the meeting exists, as a result, attendees will more likely execute on the action items assigned to them. Furthermore, when a person of authority takes notes it emphasizes the accountability issue even more.
- Feed the Ego: Noting down someone's comments tells them that what they have to say is important enough to write down and that they are being taking seriously.
- Credibility: When communicating the happenings of a meeting to co-workers later on it is more credible to have notes of the events.
Some Tips on Taking Notes:
- Organize your notes: The idea behind taking notes is that you will need to find them at one point. To that extent you need to organize your notes by adding headings and titles as well as dates.
- Spacing: You should leave some spacing and don't cramp everything together. Spacing allows you to add afterthoughts or correct mistakes while minimizing lines and scrabbles through notes.
- Laptops: I am very old school. In meetings, I prefer to use pen and paper. I found that the presence of laptops could simply be distracting. I usually find that people with laptops disturb everyone by looking for network cables and electrical outlets. However, this is simply my preference and if it works for you then use it.
- Abbreviations: Use abbreviations and symbols to enhance your note taking efficiencies. You can also use the symbols for quick access later on. For example, you could put a box by an action item and check it once you followed-up on the item.
- Review: It is very important to review the notes after the meeting. This is precisely why you took notes in the first place. Like me, you will also be surprised to notice how many things you would not have remembered had you not taken notes.