Module 2a — Office
Correspondence
and Records
| Course Guide | Module 1 | Module 2a | Module 2b |
Tips for taking notes
If you find yourself suddenly in the position of being responsible for producing a record of the meeting, the first thing you will need to consider is how you will take notes at the meeting.
- Prepare a list of expected attendees and check off the names as people enter the room.
- Make sure that you note at the time all the essential elements, such as type of meeting, names of those participating, their positions and organizations, date and time, and main topics.
- Prepare an outline based on the expected issues ahead of time, and leave plenty of white space for notes. By having the topics already written down, you can jump right on to a new topic without pause.
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Purpose of Meeting: |
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Participants: |
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Topic |
Discussion |
Action |
Person Responsible |
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- Make a map of the seating arrangement, if possible, to be sure about who said what.
- Don't record every single comment, but concentrate on getting the gist of the discussion and taking enough notes to summarize it later.
- Be prepared! Study the issues to be discussed and ask a lot of questions ahead of time. If you have to fumble for understanding while you are making your notes, they won't make any sense to you later.
- Don't wait too long to prepare the record, and be sure to have it approved while memory is fresh with key participants.
- Don't be intimidated. The ability to produce concise, coherent records is widely admired and valued.