ProdPod: Episode Seven – Effective Meetings Series: Note-taking for Post-Meeting Bliss

THIS EPISODE’S TIP IN OUR SERIES ON EFFECTIVE MEETINGS: CORNELL NOTE-TAKING METHOD FOR MEETINGS. CREATED BY WALTER PAUK, EMERITUS, AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY THIS METHODOLOGY WAS CREATED TO HELP STUDENTS TAKE NOTES AND LEARN FROM THEM THROUGHOUT A COLLEGE COURSE. I’VE MODIFIED THE CONCEPTS SLIGHTLY TO SUIT MY PROFESSIONAL NEEDS. IF YOU GOOGLE “CORNELL NOTE TAKING TEMPLATE” YOU’LL FIND A VISUAL AS I DESCRIBE THE LAYOUT.
IN SHORT, YOU HAVE THREE AREAS DESIGNATED ON A SHEET OF NOTEPAD PAPER WHICH ALONG THE LEFT-HAND SIDE COLUMN IS THE CUE C-U-E COLUMN, TO THE RIGHT OF THAT IS THE NOTE-TAKING AREA AND THE BOTTOM TWO INCHES ARE DEDICATED AS A SUMMARY AREA. I PUT THE MEETING AGENDA NEXT TO MY NOTEPAD SO I CAN FOLLOW ALONG WHILE I TAKE NOTES.
AS YOU ATTEND THE MEETING, TAKE SUBSTANTIVE NOTES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AS THEY ARE DISCUSSED IN THE MEETING AGENDA IN THE NOTE-TAKING AREA. AS THE MEETING ADJOURNS, THIS IS YOUR TIME TO REFLECT ON THE MEETING BY REVIEWING YOUR NOTES AND USE THE CUE COLUMN, AKA RECALL COLUMN, TO CREATE TWO TO FOUR WORD QUESTIONS (FOR EXAMPLE, HOW TO DESIGN BROCHURE?) AS A REFERENCE REMINDER FOR THE CONTEXT OF EACH OF THE NOTES IN THE NOTE-TAKING AREA. RIGHT AFTER YOU’VE CUED YOUR NOTES, IN THE SUMMARY AREA, SUMMARIZE THE OUTCOME OF THE MEETING IN TWO TO THREE SUCCINCT SENTENCES AS WELL AS NEXT-ACTIONS. COME YOUR GTD WEEKLY REVIEW, OR WHENEVER YOU REVIEW YOUR WEEK PAST AND WEEK AHEAD, YOU HAVE YOUR NOTES IN A FORMAT THAT WILL HELP YOU QUESTION AND ANSWER YOUR WAY THROUGH THE MEETING FOR OPTIMUM RECALL AND RETENTION.
FOLLOWING CORNELL NOTE-TAKING METHODOLOGY FOR MEETINGS AS I’VE DESCRIBED, YOU’LL KNOW THE PURPOSE OF EVERY MEETING, WHAT WAS HANDLED IN THEM AND WHAT THE OUTCOMES WERE AT A GLANCE WHENEVER YOU NEED TO REFER BACK TO IT.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS EPISODE OF PRODPOD. THIS IS RAY SIDNEY-SMITH AND THANKS FOR LISTENING! HERE’S TO YOUR PRODUCTIVITY SUCCESS…IN TWO MINUTES OR LESS.