Note-taking Skills

The most important factor in being able to take good notes is being a good listener. You already have learned so much about what it means to be a good listener and how to do it. If you are a good listener, you will be able to pick out those important things that are worthy of writing down in your notes.

What you do not want to do is try to write down everything that the person says. By doing this, you likely will not take in as much as you should because your focus will be on getting all the words written down and not actually paying attention to what the person is saying.

Good note-taking skills are learned. If you have not been good at taking notes in the past, do not worry. You can change this by learning what good note-taking looks like and then practicing it until it becomes a habit.

Keep these tips in mind when it comes to taking good notes:

Be prepared. It is hard to take notes if you walk in unprepared. If you are going to be listening to a lecture, seminar, or meetings, always take paper and a pen with you. That way, you are prepared if you decide you want to take notes.

Listen up. This is the time to put into use all the good listening skills that you have been learning. It is important to be open-minded, engage in active listening, have good body language, etc.

Develop a style. Try different note-taking styles until you find one that works well for you and then stick with it. You will want to think about such things as leaving some blank lines so you can go back and write in additional notes if you need to, abbreviating words, etc. You will also want to write brief lines rather than trying to write out every word in a sentence. You may want to highlight or circle important information that you will want to quickly find later. Do not take the time to erase anything if you make a mistake. Just draw a line through it.

Find facts. When it comes to taking notes, you want to listen for the facts or main points that are being said. Write those down in a brief format rather than trying to write down everything or full definitions. More than anything else, it is important to make sure that you get the main points written down. Also, write down anything that the person is repeating, writes on a whiteboard or overhead, or if there are any examples provided that may be helpful later. Write down any words mentioned that you are unsure of.

Summarize. Your goal in taking notes is to summarize what you are listening to and how you are interpreting the information. Rather than simply try to write down word for word what the speaker is saying, summarize what you are getting out of what you are listening to. It will make more sense to you later and help you make more sense of it at the time.

Clarify. If you end up having questions or need clarification on any of the points that the speaker made, be sure to ask for clarification when the time is appropriate. If you leave not understanding something, it is doubtful that it will become clear on your own once you leave.

Review. Within a day or so, review the notes that you took. This will help refresh everything that you learned and give you a chance to make additions or changes as needed. This is the time to also look up the definitions to any words you wrote down that you were not sure of.

Organize. Your notes should always be organized. If you are taking a class, put all your notes in a three-ring binder to keep them together. If the notes are for work purposes, keep them in a binder or file for future reference

Keeping these tips in mind and following the listening skills you have been learning, you should have no problem getting the most out of any lecture, seminar, or meeting.

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