The Lost Art of Note Taking

When did I become the only person taking notes at meetings?

The next time you have a meeting, look around and see how many people are actually engaged in the discussion going on.

And I don’t mean who hasn’t fallen asleep, we have coffee for that. I mean who actually engages in the conversation, helps solve the problems the meeting was called to solve in the first place, can summarize what the next steps should be, comes away knowing what the team expects from them, and finally leaves the room a little bit smarter?

Huh?  Am I telling you that you can get all that from just sitting in a meeting?

Yes, you can if you get out your note pad.

A couple decades ago I was at a technical presentation and noticed one of my senior colleagues taking notes as the speakers were talking at the front of the room. Nobody else seemed too concerned with what the speakers were saying, and I’m sure that within a few hours of the presentation all the information they’d learned was lost….except for the guy taking notes. Let me explain.

I once had a high school teacher who said, “if you want to get at least a B in my class you need to expose yourself to the same information three times; once in class (where you take notes), once when doing assignments (where you apply the concepts), and once when studying for exams (where you take even more notes)”.

All three stages involves putting pen to paper. But why is it necessary to go through the tactile process of putting ink on a piece of paper?

Because, that’s how we’re wired. We need to engage our hands to engage our brains.

10,000 years ago we learned to create arrow points by practicing at the feet of a master arrow maker. 

In a nutshell, we learn by repetition.  And we turn on the part of our brains that retains information by using our hands to work on something.

In our modern world that means taking notes.

The next time you are in a meeting, try this out. Before the meeting put the reason for the meeting at the top of your note pad, and then as people show up list them on the side of your note pad (it helps us old timers remember names as well!!). Don’t forget the date.

Now as the meeting progresses listen for things that are said by others that you didn’t know about. Also listen for things that need further investigation. Write them down in note form. Ask clarifying questions to ensure that what you heard was what was actually said, and to increase your understanding of the issues. Finish off by summarizing with the group what the next steps should be. Put people’s names to the next steps.

There you go. Did you feel yourself getting smarter? Well you are. You’ve started to create new pathways in your brain by taking notes, and as an added bonus you have a record of the meeting.

I’ve also found that if I then take those notes and flesh them out a bit more (like when I’ve been to a technical presentation) suddenly a lot of extra information comes flowing back into my memory.  

Give it try and let me know if it works for you. Hopefully others will also start to “take note” ...