How to Take Better Notes in Meeting

June 29, 2023 5 mins read

Effective meeting notes play a crucial role in capturing key discussions, decisions, and action items from collaborative meetings. They serve as a valuable reference for participants and absentees alike, ensuring alignment, accountability, and follow-through. However, the quality and organization of meeting notes can significantly impact the productivity and outcomes of future engagements.

This article explores strategies and techniques for creating better meeting notes, empowering teams to maximize efficiency, streamline communication, and achieve more productive outcomes.

In this article:

Part 1. What are the meeting minutes?
Part 2. 5 Kinds of Efficiently Tools for Notes-taking in Meetings

Part 3. Tips for Taking Better Notes

Part 1. What are the meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes are a written record or summary of the discussions, decisions, and actions taken during a meeting. They serve as an official and formal documentation of what occurred during the meeting and provide a reference for participants and absentees alike.

Meeting minutes typically include the following information:

1. Meeting details: Includes the date, time, location, attendees, and the person(s) responsible for recording the minutes.
2. Agenda: Lists the topics or items to be discussed, ensuring a focused discussion and addressing all necessary matters.
3. Discussions: Summarize the key points, ideas, opinions, and arguments presented by participants, capturing the essence of the conversation.
4. Decisions: Highlights resolutions, conclusions, and decisions made, including agreements, assigned action items, and formulated plans.
5. Action items: Provides a list of tasks or actions assigned to individuals or teams, specifying responsibilities, deadlines, and follow-up requirements.
6. Next steps: Outlines future plans, activities, or initiatives discussed, including upcoming meetings, projects, or related endeavors.

Part 2. 5 Kinds of Efficiently Tools for Notes-taking in Meetings

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a)VoxNote is primarily used as a voice-to-text transcription tool, allowing users to convert audio recordings or voice notes into written text.

Features of VoxNote:

Live transcription: Convert spoken words to text in real-time during meetings.
Speaker Diarization: Identify different speakers and label the transcript accordingly.
Speaker-specific summary: Provide a summarized version of meeting notes organized by each speaker.
Edit & share: Easily edit and refine transcribed notes and share them with others.

Video tutorial on how to use VoxNote:

b)Microsoft Teams: primarily used as a collaborative platform for remote teamwork, enabling virtual meetings, real-time messaging, document collaboration, and seamless communication within teams.

Features of Microsoft Teams:

Create and access meeting notes within Teams.
Integrate with OneNote for capturing and organizing meeting notes.
Collaboratively edit meeting notes with multiple team members.
Real-time updates and syncing of meeting notes for all participants.
Format meeting notes with headings, bullet points, and tables.

c)Otter.ai: Mainly used for real-time transcription and note-taking during meetings, presentations, and interviews.

Features of Otter.ai

Real-time transcription of meetings and conversations.
Ability to search and highlight specific parts of the transcript.
Integrates with popular conferencing tools.
Sync transcripts across devices.

2 Digital Note-Taking

a)Microsoft OneNote: Used for creating and organizing digital notebooks for comprehensive note-taking and information management.

Features of Microsoft OneNote:

Create digital notebooks for organizing meeting notes.
Tag notes for easy categorization and retrieval.
Share and collaborate on notes with team members.
Integration with Microsoft Office suite.

b)Evernote: Primarily used for capturing, organizing, and syncing personal and professional notes across devices.

Features of Evernote:

Create and organize notes using notebooks and tags.
Capture and sync notes across multiple devices.
Add images, audio recordings, and attachments to notes.
Collaborate and share notes with others.

c)Google Keep: Used for quick and simple note-taking, creating checklists, and setting reminders.

Features of Evernote:

Capture and organize quick notes, reminders, and checklists.
Sync notes across devices and access them from any browser.
Collaborate in real-time with others on shared notes.
Set reminders and receive notifications.

3 Collaboration and Documentation

a)Google Docs: Mainly used for collaborative real-time document creation, editing, and sharing.

Features of Google Docs:

Collaborate in real-time with team members on meeting notes.
Add text, images, tables, and other media to notes.
Comment and provide feedback on specific sections.
Version history and tracking changes.

b)Dropbox Paper: Designed for collaborative note-taking, document creation, and sharing within the Dropbox ecosystem.

Features of Dropbox Paper:

Collaboratively create and edit meeting notes.
Embed media, files, and documents within notes.
Comment on specific sections and receive notifications.
Integration with Dropbox for easy file sharing.

c)Confluence: Used for creating and organizing team knowledge, including meeting minutes, project documentation, and internal wikis.

Features of Confluence:

Create and organize meeting minutes and documentation.
Collaborate with team members on meeting notes and agendas.
Version control and tracking changes.
Integration with other project management and collaboration tools.

4 Project Management Integration

a)Trello: Primarily used for visual project management and tracking tasks, including those derived from meeting discussions.

Features of Trello:

Create boards and cards to track meeting tasks and action items.
Assign tasks, set due dates, and add descriptions.
Collaborate with team members and comment on tasks.
Integration with other project management tools.

b)Asana: Used for managing and tracking team projects, including tasks generated during meetings.

Features of Asana:

Convert meeting discussions into actionable tasks.
Assign tasks to team members and set due dates.
Track progress and add attachments to tasks.
Integration with other collaboration and communication tools.

c)Monday.com: Primarily used as a visual project management tool for tracking and managing tasks and projects, including those discussed in meetings.

Features of Monday.com:

Visual project management platform for tracking meeting-related tasks.
Customize workflows, columns, and automations.
Collaborate and communicate with team members.
Integration with various apps and services.

5 Annotation and Drawing

a)Notability: Mainly used for handwritten note-taking, annotation, and sketching, often used in academic and creative contexts.

Features of Notability:

Handwritten note-taking and annotation capabilities.
Highlight, draw, and add shapes to notes.
Record audio and sync with written notes.
Search handwritten notes using handwriting recognition.

b)GoodNotes: Used for digital handwriting and annotation, particularly for taking notes on PDFs, documents, and images.

Features of GoodNotes:

Handwritten note-taking and annotation features.
Import and annotate PDFs, documents, and images.
Organize notes using virtual notebooks and folders.
Handwriting recognition for searching notes.

Part 3. Tips for Taking Better Notes

1 Utilize structured templates

Take advantage of pre-designed templates or create your own standardized note-taking format within the tools. This helps ensure consistency, organization, and easy retrieval of information across different meetings.

2 Actively summarize discussions

Instead of attempting to capture every word, focus on summarizing the main points, key arguments, and decisions made during the meeting. This allows for a more concise and digestible set of notes.

3 Use tags and keywords

Incorporate tags or keywords in your notes to facilitate quick searching and retrieval of specific information. This can be especially helpful when reviewing past meetings or when looking for specific action items or decisions.

4 Collaborate in real-time

If the tools support collaborative editing, invite participants to contribute and edit the meeting notes simultaneously. This promotes accuracy, captures different perspectives, and ensures a comprehensive record of the discussion.

At Last

In conclusion, following these tips and using the mentioned tools can greatly improve your meeting notes. Use templates, summarize key points, add tags, collaborate in real-time, incorporate multimedia, and regularly review your notes. By doing so, you'll create well-organized and actionable notes that enhance productivity and ensure effective communication in your meetings.

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Kevin Walker

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