Knowing how to take notes in the business sector is an additional skill. Therefore, it is necessary to be the maestro of this technique, as it is one of the most useful ones.
It is used for; interpreting, organizing, summarizing and memorizing the information provided by the hierarchy in the organization.
Around 75% of business officials prefer to take notes during a business meeting, and it is also considered necessary for the organization.
Let’s discuss tips and tricks of note-taking in more detail.
What Makes It Strenuous?
Note-taking has become an arduous task for business officials with time. Imagine yourself as a project manager dealing with multiple people on call at a time, and after the call, you have loads of important information.
How exactly are you going to remember all of that? Here comes the note-taking for the rescue. In the business sector, you are not working alone; there are stakeholders and others to whom you are answerable.
They usually call meetings to communicate different aspects of a profit-earning process. Now, a single session may last between an hour and two hours.
How are you able to distinguish between useful information and sarcasm? This is what makes note-taking a difficult task.
What Should You Write?
Detailed and in-depth notes are generally considered worthless when scrutinizing them to extract relevant information. This is the difference between an organizational employee and a court reporter.
You are not hired to note down every detail as it is spoken; you are there to extract the relevant ones only. Therefore, there are strategies and bullet points to sort out the information. See the following headings exemplifying the general category that should be included in your notes.
Capture At Discussion
The major elements or set of information that should be noted during a discussion is as follows:
- Miscellaneous Discussion Points: Use your gut feelings to note the random information during a conversation. If a topic is well discussed, then there is potential that this information will be required for later use.
- Brainstorming: If you are in a meeting and your boss uses a brainstorming technique, do not note everything. Wait for the meeting to come to an end, and simply take a picture of the final brainstorm.
- Opinions and Debates: Make bullet points of the discussion. Divide it into different segments as per the theme of discussion.
- Conversation: For general conversations, keep your ear open. Not everything is to be documented on paper; store some relevant information in your brain.
Must-Capture
Following are the essential elements of note-taking, without which your notes are incomplete.
- Decisions: Wait for the debate to get over and the final decision to come over. Note down the final decisions at the end of the debate instead of all the unnecessary words at the start.
- Action Items: Capture the action items presented in the meeting. In simpler words, note down the entire action commanded by the boss.
- Specifications: Make sure you have a separate section for specifications. They came up unexpectedly from the conversations.
Ignore It
Succeeding is the list of items that should be completely exempted from the notes.
- Pleasantries: These are the polite conversations often used as neutralizers or starters of the meeting. This should definitely not be part of the notes.
- Ambiguous Points: Sometimes, the attendee of the meeting goes too far in a debate that they enter into a new dimension that is not even relatable. This type of information cannot be part of summarized note-taking.
How To Do It?
Effective note takings are necessary to withhold the tones of information regulating on a daily basis in an organization. There are multiple strategies that employees can use to take notes.
Linear Technique
The linear note-taking technique is the simplest technique to apply. It is to divide the information into headings and sub-headings and use contractions and abbreviations for the details. It is useful if you are still using paper and pen for note-taking.
However, in this modern era, people often use digital software for note-taking. Software like Evernote is considered revolutionary for note-taking, as it provides multiple options that are impossible for a human to carry at a time.
You can use it to search, note different info in different tabs and much more.
Cornell Note Technique
The Cornell note technique was used initially to note down the details in a synchronized manner. This patterned writing enables the reader to extract relevant information when required without any hassle.
It also exempts any additional efforts of re-writing your notes by organizing them. See the following way of applying the technique;
- Divide the page into a thinner and a larger column
- Write keywords over the thinner column and Notes on the larger column.
- In the end, make a section of the summary.
If you are using a digital version like Evernote, you can use the readymade template for this purpose.
Review and Revision
The review and revision technique is a simpler one. It is to note down every detail you can and later highlight it.
Note down the necessary details in an annotated summary form. Divide the content on the basis of the heading and theme of the discussion.
Read it out and highlight the main points of the discussion, and later copy them as key points. For instance, you are taking notes related to assignment writing services UK. Write down every detail regarding the services you’ll provide and why any individual should take your services. Revise the whole content and then summarize it.
Why Does It?
Despite being an old-school technique, note-taking has not disappeared from the business system. It has evolved from traditional to digital and has become more efficient.
See the following postulates highlighting the significance of note-taking.
- At the student level, the habit of note-taking develops a student’s analytical skillset. It supports them in increasing their attention level and paying attention to minute details.
- It promotes active learning in the interns. Note-taking obligates them to focus on different and every aspect of the process involved in office functionality. It ultimately increases their learning process and writing productivity.
- It enhances the memory of employees. Taking notes also forces them to focus on the conversation and remember each word until it is utilized completely. This is how it serves as a memory retention process for employees.
- The most important prioritization skill is polished by note takings. It is important to highlight and pick only what is important in an organization. This adds to the skills of employees.
- It increases the attention span. When you are aware of the responsibility of noting every detail, you are attentive and focused on the agenda of the meeting.
- Note-taking can create an impact on the whole organization by increasing its efficiency. There will be lesser glitches in their process as they all are focused and remember their duties.
- The different styles of note-taking increase the creativity level among employees. The constant pressure and limited time constraints trigger their creative process.
Bonus Tips and Tricks
Despite the new software and digital note-taking, there are some tips that are beneficial in every situation.
See the following additional tips while taking notes.
- Make sure to leave out any unnecessary detail or sugar-coated sentences.
- Create your own rules of note taking as it is your ground play as you are comfortable.
- Do not share your note with anyone. Please provide them with key points or summarized passages, but not the raw notes.
- Ensure while writing that your paragraphs are no longer than two to three lines.
- Leave space in between paragraphs and use clear headings for the divisions.
While Summing Up…
Note-taking in business secures its significant position due to the information it carries. There are tons of instructions to function on a daily basis, and all of these are only present in the form of notes. Therefore, note-taking is an important skill set in an organization.
I hope the strategies and significance that I have mentioned above will be supportive for you. If you have any other strategies that, please do tell me.
