Taking notes
Before the meeting
- Gather the list of attendees and purpose of the meeting
- Use the meeting agenda as an outline
- Prepare minutes from the template, or create a minutes template if there isn’t one already
During the meeting
- Sit beside the chairperson for easy clarification or help
- Focus on action items and key decisions rather than who said what
- If you don’t understand what decision or action has been made, ask the meeting lead to clarify
- Conventions for taking meeting notes
- At the close of the meeting, briefly summarize the next steps and let everyone know you’ll send out a meeting summary
Taking notes on a laptop vs paper
It is up to your personal preference. Paper has the advantages of keeping your attention on the group and forcing you to mentally review the meeting when transcribing to a digital format.
After the meeting
- Review the notes and add additional comments and clarification immediately after the meeting, while the information is still fresh in everyone’s mind
- Write the notes within 48 hours, so that people who attended are reminded of action items, and those who didn’t attend will promptly know the meeting’s outcome
- Ask the meeting lead to review the notes for errors