Newsroom
Four tips for taking good notes
January 26, 2017
There are some people who are good note takers. They can easily summarize any class or meeting they've attended by referring to their notes. So what are some of their secrets?
- Don't rely on the presentation slides to be your notes. This is especially important for students, but also for anyone who is attending a meeting or training. Slides with bullet points don't give you enough information. Write down details for each bullet point so you'll have a better understanding of the presentation or discussion.
- Don't let your notes go stale. Review, maybe even retype, them soon after the meeting or class. You probably can't write everything down but if you review your notes after the meeting, you will probably be able to fill in any details from memory.
- Be organized. Date and title the notes for any meeting or class. If it is a meeting, you may also want to include who is in attendance. There are some notebooks that are designed for easy organization and available at office supply stores. This organization will help you if you want to refer to them later. One way to organize electronic meeting notes is to name the file with the meeting date first and then the name of the group or event.
- Develop your own shorthand. This works for either typed or handwritten notes and helps you keep up with the speaker. However, be sure you are able to translate that shorthand later. That may be easier for anyone who is used to texting. For instance, use acronyms or eliminate vowels or use other phonetic spelling. Just remember to only use that for your notes and not for other types of writing. Also, if you handwrite your notes, make sure you can read your own handwriting. It happens sometimes that we can't read our own handwriting, ahem, even to the best of us!
After you have taken your notes, it's also a good idea to summarize them with either one or two important key points or next steps.
Mapping Your Future has more tips online for students to be successful in college.