Write notes for action

Ask any athlete and they’ll tell you: there’s no substitute for more reps. By proactively volunteering to lead notetaking in your next meeting, you inject focus into the process. Other attendees are free to talk and engage without worrying if their ideas are being documented, while you’re empowered to put your energy toward capturing key moments, challenges, questions, and action items. For agenda-led meetings, put your notes in the shared agenda. For other instances, you can capture in a collaborative document like Dropbox Paper and share after the meeting. 

When you’re documenting real-time notes, write the speaker’s name before the note. Knowing who was speaking allows those reading your notes to gain context on the person — and in turn, their role and perspective. Go a step further by using smart formatting. Numbered lists are more citable than bulleted lists as they provide a specific number to refer back to, and indentations enable you to document a complete thread of conversation while avoiding run-on thoughts. 

The quickest way to ensure you’re only documenting the most important takeaways (as opposed to a transcript) is to listen for questions, follow-up requests, and calls to action. If the situation calls for it, tag people and specify due dates. These are the most vital elements to refer back to, and it ensures that those who could not attend the meeting — or those who may be interested at a later time — have a clear view of what went unanswered and what comes next.