How To Take Notes

Taking notes is an important skill to learn. Whether it be for lectures in school or for a presentation, general observation or some sort of training, you can take great notes if you take the time to learn some basic skills. Although you may be tempted to just record audio or video, proper note taking actually forces you to pay attention which helps you to learn in the process.

Most people speak faster than people can write the words down. With the exception of very fast typists, such as stenographers who type every word said in a courthouse trial, most people simply can't keep up with the pace of speech. If you don't have a keyboard to type on, and have to rely on pen and paper, then the note taking process is even slower.

Either way, the best thing to do is to get good at ignoring unnecessary words. For example, the word "the" can often be left out of writing without confusing the meaning. Get good at identifying those words you can leave out without making the text confusing. By leaving out these words, you can keep the important points in tact and find it easier to keep pace with the speech.

Even more important than leaving out words is leaving out entire sentences. When the speaker repeats a point, then obviously it's not necessary to write it more than once. However, it probably means that it's an important point, and if you are going to be tested on this material, or it's necessary information for your job, then either underline or highlight that point. If you are using pen and paper, then it may be helpful to also use a highlighter. If you find that your hand is cramping a lot from writing so much text, you may want to consider investing in a netbook, or laptop.

It's also important to have minimal distractions when taking notes. Because taking good notes means being a good listener, that means avoiding conversation with another person, turning off your cell phone, avoid using the web, etc. Basically, you want to give the speaker your undivided attention. If you didn't hear what he or she said, or didn't understand the meaning, you should not hesitate to ask the speaker to repeat or clarify the point. If you are taking observational notes not based on someone speaking, the same applies. For example, if you are writing a review for a concert, you should pay undivided attention to the performance, so you can get the most detailed and accurate notes to use for your review.

If you are taking a lot of notes on a regular basis, for example at college lectures, then it's probably a good idea to put the topic, class, and date at the top of each page. This is in case your notes get mixed up so you'll be able to make sense of them later.

Taking notes is a skill you can get good at over time with practice. Since part of it is being a good listener or observer, and those skills will help you throughout your life, it is important to get good at taking notes.