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Learning how to make meeting notes is a skill that will boost productivity and ensure you get down key points every time. Follow these simple rules and you’ll soon be able to offer a detailed breakdown of every meeting you attend. Try the simple exercise at the end of this article to see how you can easily change your approach to note taking.
It might seem old fashioned, but taking notes using pen and paper is the most productive way to keep track of what’s being said during a meeting. Laptops and tablets set up physical barriers between participants, with the temptation to check email and tend to other work instead of listening to what is being said. Using this traditional method is good meeting etiquette too, allowing you to engage eye contact rather than staring at a screen. That said, some technological tools are worth investing in. Wacom’s Bamboo Folio smartpad allows you to take notes in ink, which you can then digitize and save to the Wacom Inkspace app at the press of a button. These can then easily be shared via a smartphone or tablet.
Rather than writing out lengthy notes across multiple pages, try mind maps instead. This more visual method requires you to study the agenda of the meeting beforehand. Place each topic at the center of its own page, drawing branches outwards depending on what is discussed. If items are related, they can then be connected by different lines. Try to use larger paper for this task so you don’t run out of space. When the meeting is over, you’ll have a graphic, easy-to-follow reminder of what has been agreed and action points that need to be taken.
After carefully studying the agenda, break each aspect of the meeting down into categories. These can include key issues that come up while discussing a particular topic, actions that different members of a team need to take and when, decisions that have been reached and what questions need to be followed up at a later date. Taking good notes using this approach is about striking a balance, as you don’t want to over-plan note taking and then miss out on important information that can come up at any point during a meeting.
Note taking strategies vary, but writing down everything that is said in long hand is laborious and very difficult. That means you should either learn classic shorthand, as practiced by court reporters, or develop your own version that you can easily understand once the meeting has finished. This will give you the advantage of listening to and getting down as much information as possible without losing track of what has been said. Remember, you only need to take down a summary and can use symbols to represent words.
Whether you use shorthand, draw mind maps or break a meeting down into categories, it’s essential to read and then save notes as soon as you get back to your desk. Ideas will still be fresh and the notes and drawings you’ve taken will still make sense. Start by digitizing your notes via a Bamboo Ink stylus and the note taking app Wacom Inkspace, then categorize and condense them in a new document so that the key points from the meeting are emphasized. These files can then be saved in a shared folder or distributed among colleagues via email.
Listening attentively is a core part of taking effective notes. With this in mind, open an audio or video file of your choice, such as a podcast or clip from YouTube. Play it for three minutes, during which time you should try and note down all the key facts and details that are mentioned. The goal here is not to record everything that is said, rather pull out the most important factors. When you’ve finished, read over your notes, either on your notepad or within the digital file you’ve created using a Bamboo Ink. Then listen back to the clip to check that they fit with what was said. This simple exercise will teach you how to take meeting notes effectively, listening out for key details and leaving out information that isn’t important.
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Wacom’s vision is to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies. This has made it the world’s leading manufacturer of interactive pen tablets and displays as well as of digital styli and solutions for saving and processing digital signatures. The advanced technology of Wacom’s intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashion and designs around the world and provides business and home users with their leading interface technology to express their personality. Founded in 1983, Wacom is a global company based in Japan (Tokyo Stock Exchange 6727) with subsidiaries and affiliate offices around the world to support marketing and distribution in over 150 countries.