How to Develop Good Note Taking Skills

Studies have shown that we only retain about 10% of what we hear. With good note taking skills, you can increase that number without losing yourself in a bunch of writing. This article explains how.

Things You'll Need

  • A good pen or pencil
  • A notebook
  • An alert mind
  • Whatever you're taking notes for (seminar, class, etc.)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Developing good note taking skills means that you only record facts that are worthwhile. You have to differentiate between what's good to know and what you need to know.

    • 2

      Use the "voice" that makes the most sense to you. In other words, put it in your own words when you can. There's nothing wrong with writing it verbatim from the speaker's words, but just make sure that when you read back over it, you'll still understand the "heart" of what was said.

    • 3

      When note taking, skip examples unless they are necessary for you to fully understand the idea that was presented. Otherwise, you'll have a notebook full of anectdotes that won't make much sense.

    • 4

      Write in short phrases, and use as many abbreviations as you possibly can, as long as you can remember what the abbreviations stood for when you first wrote them!

    • 5

      Good note taking skills also means that you remember to include introductory remarks and closing summary statements. These most of the time will give you a full "30,000-foot overview" picture of what the speaker is presenting.

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