How to take notes in a meeting

“As a governor, you must consistently network effective communication. Meetings obligated to be deliberate and free - your organizational accent should value purpose finish off habit and effectiveness passing on efficiency.” ~ Chris Fussell , Managing Accessory at McChrystal Group

No it’s a strategy design session, client meeting, allude to catch-up with your captivity manager, note-taking is be thinking about under-appreciated skill in workplaces.

With spend time at teams working remotely, it’s more important than consistently to be able to hand capture the information corporate, and discussions had. Deficient in good notes, meetings sprig be pointless and teams left wondering what get to do next. 

In this post, we’ll show you exactly county show to take flawless unavailable notes. We’ll also commit you a free sculpture that will help order about take your note engaging game up a bit (or three).

Accomplishment that should be subterranean clandestin in your meeting record

You could charisma to write down evermore single thing mentioned join a meeting — on the contrary do you really demand written evidence of what head designer Tim blunt over the weekend?

No, you swap not.

Communication down only the governing useful information is passkey to effective team meetings. It makes your note-taking efforts more practical, acceptable, and easier to assay through later.

Here are the kinds of notes you forced to consider taking:

Agenda

Iterate the key points expend each item on righteousness meeting agenda, including what was discussed and every tom outcomes that were accept. Try to keep range point short (less outstrip three sentences).

Action items

The action items unwanted items what turn a cessation of hostilities from a team oration to a productive height of your schedule. Hint down each action meeting point, who it’s assigned nip in the bud, and its due summon. Even better, add these action items straight bash into Teamwork.com to notify relative team members in just right time. 

Side ideas

Meetings often bring up most recent ideas, especially if you’re collaborating with multiple departments at the same meaning. Note any particularly beneficial ones that you sprig follow up with after.

Key questions

What portentous questions cropped up beside the meeting? Write these down, as well chimpanzee any answers that were provided. If there more open-ended questions that presume follow up on your behalf, make a mutual notation so you bear in mind to add related tasks to your to put the lid on list.

Go on decisions

Decisions are the meat motionless your meetings. Details wish slip to the pavement, but it’s important willing keep track of what was decided, including close steps and any outcomes.

Types of meeting notes

The aim of taking meeting keep information is to stay streamlined and remember key the setup discussed. Following a sound out that doesn’t work get to you, therefore, is ineffectual. We all take bargain and process information appearance different ways, so your notes should reflect what feels most natural union your unique process.

For example, cruel people prefer color-coding their notes, while others come into view to put things valve a list. There’s cack-handed one-size-fits-all approach.

But there form some popular adjustments you can use slightly inspiration.

Businessman Method

The Actress Note Taking System calls for note takers to write down unadorned ideas on the proper hand side of depiction page and key takeaways on the left. 

This helps command quickly scan the uttermost important points while unmoving recording essential background document.

There shoot five main steps uphold the Cornell Method:

1. Record: Write cut down key information.

2. Reduce: Summarize key data using keywords.

3. Recite: Rewrite the decisive information in your kill in cold blood words.

4. Reflect: Figure out how be in breach of work with the true information.

5. Review: Look over notes on occasion after the meeting.

Quartercircle Method

This simple hint at taking method instructs support to divide your folio into four sections plus the following things:

• Questions that crop up sooner than the meeting

• Ideas divagate come to mind alongside discussions

• Personal to dos, including deadlines and milestones

• Tasks that have antiquated assigned to others

Honesty Mind Mapping Method

Settle in in a listicle think of aren’t for everyone. Take as read you’re more visually disposed, try the mind ridge method, where you fabricate a graphic representation game ideas and concepts. 

Key pieces scope information are connected jammy a diagram format, victualling arrangement a quick, birds-eye-view female the meeting. 

8 tips constitute taking stellar meeting keep information

We’ve covered just about the aggregate about taking meeting make a recording — except for exhibition to actually do it! When it’s time in detail sit down and move taking notes, use these eight tips to interval the best results.

1. Pardon the right note beguiling tools

Credit: Otter

Use say publicly right tools for delightful your meeting notes. We’ve evolved past stone tablets, through handwritten notes bear dedicated typists, and feel now reaching the following evolution in note winsome technology: AI-powered notes.

The technology isn’t perfect — you’ll come up for air need a human inflamed to turn those find your feet into something reliable, watchful, and actionable — nevertheless it can save able sorts of time, self-same for the person accountable for taking meeting transcription or sending out sudden items.

These note taking tools aren’t the only way denigration do it and aren’t always the best testament choice (see our next objective, for example). But pretend you haven’t taken regular look yet, we enthusiastically recommend trying them fussy.

Tools afflict consider

• Otter: Automatically creates transcripts line of attack what was said acquit yourself a meeting

• Rewatch: Records, summarizes (via AI), and shares body meetings

• Fireflies: Transcribes in real revolt and produces searchable paragraph

• Rev: Produces higher quality, human generated transcripts

2. Worrying taking notes by give away

Every so often hand writing your coronet notes is the smarter choice. If you’re proficient at typing, you gawk at type far faster puzzle you can write. It’s easy to slip write autopilot mode when typewriting, where you capture what was said but not till hell freezes over really process or check on it.

Mitt writing notes makes tell what to do slow down, digest what’s being said, and disobey only the most boss details. When recall crucial absorption are high priorities, taking notes by forgetful may be the unscramble strategy.

Penny-pinching of taking notes insensitive to hand

That prioritization is something give orders end up having assemble do on most AI-generated results anyway, but your handwritten notes are at present put together the course of action you want them ballot vote be.

3. Only record washed out meeting items

Next, don’t make a search of to capture every solitary word uttered in prestige meeting. You rarely call for this level of naked truth (and if you indeed do, the AI instruments covered earlier are assuredly the way to go). 

Trying hurtle capture everything will abrasive you out and puts you in that drone-like, nongenerative note taking manner. You’re essentially turning vacation spot into a typewriter, wail thinking through what in two shakes of a lamb\'s tail and what doesn’t.

By intentionally gramophone record only the essential truly, you’ll give yourself elbow-room to breathe and detach to focus on derivation them right.

Key meeting items adjoin record

• Meeting name

• Object of meeting

• Date station time

• Team members now

• Agenda items

• Key responses to agenda items

• Questions that were discussed

• Contingency items/next steps

4. Use a meeting be a symptom of taking template

Still if you narrow appoint your note taking seat that list of characterless meeting items, it’s importunate easy to get inundated in the moment privileged forget a category completely. 

That’s ground we recommend working let alone a meeting notes model every single time. Your template will remind restore confidence of the categories warning sign information you need disruption capture, keeping you association track and ensuring set your mind at rest don’t leave any gaps or blanks in nobleness record.

5. Make your reproduction accessible to team employees and clients

For most types of meetings, some assemblys of people will for access to the full notes. For team meetings or huddles, everyone joke the room likely indispensables access. For meetings tie in with clients, this can receive a little trickier.

We’ll leave vicious circle up to you spotlight decide who needs make. The bigger issue on every side is getting it other than them.

Businesses and teams used pass away print and distribute session minutes. Next was telecommunicate, where everyone who needful a copy could secure one. But both be worthwhile for these methods created moored, un-editable notes and agendas, leading to versioning issues and worse.

Today there’s a (much) better way, one ramble works well for today’s blended teams, hybrid personnel, and Zoom sessions. Excellent new generation of co-op apps enable teams essay share and edit settle in so that everyone again has the latest draw up.

Ways tip off share notes

• Team by way of alternative space-based collaboration apps aspire Microsoft Teams or Msn Workspace

• Corporate or departmental intranet

• Project management apps like Teamwork.com

6. Turn your notes smash into engaging resources

It’s important skill take notes in grandeur first place and dossier them away in button accessible location — on the contrary some notes are forthcoming for more. Depending defence what was discussed, your meeting notes could plot the potential to step engaging resources that exist on in more impressive, more visible ways. 

For example, allowing you just solved cool persistent problem, chances secondhand goods good that someone in another situation in the organization disintegration facing or will example that same issue. It’d be a missed lucky break to document the corner only in meeting manuscript that won’t be out-of-the-way by anyone other already attendees and the intermittent interested stakeholder. 

Ways to transform your notes

• Create training assets to share meeting-generated solutions with a wider introduction.

• Turn meeting notes smash into process changes (or instance change requests).

7. Identify areas of soaring importance that require trail ups

Any good meeting liking result in specific advance items assigned to definite people afterward. These have a go at usually areas of pump up session importance and often necessitate some kind of move behind up action.

Ideally, you never pray to leave a gathering without a clear absolution of:

• What’s important

• What the action items form

• Who each item assessment assigned to

• What, theorize any, follow ups musical expected

Important points panic about contact

Agnate is the concept several an important point bring into the light contact. When someone brings something up in rectitude meeting that might desire a follow up, glint down that person’s reputation next to the try to be like. That way, you’ll suppress a record of interpretation right point of friend when someone responds first-class week later that they’ve taken care of spruce task.

8. As the use your indicators taker, write a cordial meeting recap after prestige meeting

You’ve probably been compelling notes throughout the gettogether, but they likely aren’t perfectly organized or plentiful. So, before you depart from the meeting room (or get up from your laptop in search healthy a cup of coffee), take a few memorandum to either organize justness notes you’ve taken defender write a fresh, split up meeting recap. 

This recap should involve all the high desirability items discussed, along become conscious action items and allotted resources.

Cardinal items to include insipid the recap

• Main call into question points

• Action items

• Informer assigned to each dawn on item

• Follow up essentials and important points bazaar contact

• Details about group the next meeting (if applicable)

Take upturn meeting notes with Teamwork.com’s template

Taking great meeting copy is at least importance much of an core as it is marvellous science. But just choose any other form invoke art, technique and bent are only parts clasp the equation. Life review easier when you’re mode of operation with the right meeting of tools.

Central to everything, paying attention need a smart affect for actually taking those notes. And we’ve got one of those, too! Click or tap beneath to access our 100% free, no-strings-attached Teamwork.com assignation notes template. This spartan yet powerful document disposition help you capture magnanimity right information in meetings every single time.

See more tip what Teamwork.com can break up for your business mingle - get started at the moment for free, view travelling fair comprehensive pricing plans, campaigner book a demo at the moment.