A Simple Way To Take Notes

Hi!

Taking visual notes is a great way to start exercising those visual thinking muscles. Here is a breakdown of a simple method for notetaking. It’s a great starting point for those new to using visuals and it’s a method I still use regularly.

Let’s get started!

Start by drawing in a title in the top left of your page. It doesn’t need to be fancy, some simple writing, a container, and an icon are a good place to start. I’ll usually do this a couple of minutes before the meeting or session.

When I’m working small format (the paper is a3), I default to working in landscape. I find this gives me more control when it comes to organising space but you can do this in portrait as well. Try both and see what works for you.

As you’re listening start writing your notes below your title, work your way down the page as you go. To help organise the space, I've chunked my writing like this:

Instead of:

“Start taking notes below your title”

Adding bullet points beside each chunk of writing helps separate each of the points. Also, although I’ve added visuals herel, you don’t have to draw the visuals as you write each chunk. We’ll talk more about that later!

Once you reach the bottom of the page, draw a dividing line. I like to do this as a dashed line but it could be a solid line as well. Using a different colour helps give it some extra pop.

Start at the top of the next row and again work your way down again. Rinse and repeat this process of taking notes down the page and drawing dividing lines.

While you’re listening, there are often periods where you don’t have anything to write. This is a great opportunity to go back and add shadows and visuals.

When adding visuals it can be easy to get caught up in trying to find the “right” visual for each point, which can make it really difficult to come up with ideas. I always remind myself that there are so many different ways to communicate the same point visually.

Finally, some tips!

Use colour to highlight keywords

In this example and in a lot of my notes, I default to using black, grey, and one colour. This makes it much easier to manage than having a whole bunch of colours to balance and make work together.

Use capitals for emphasis

This is a simple but effective tip. Take those keywords in each of your points and capitalise them, or change the font. When I started doing this, my notes instantly had more pop and it also helps drive home what’s important.

Simplify where possible

Take those long sentences and turn them into a few words that cut to the core of what’s being said.

Last but not least, don’t forget to add a frame :)