Want to get Better Meeting Results? This is Your Secret Weapon

Meeting notes. Ugh. Whether this phrase conjures up images of furiously recording every spoken word, scribbling notes on a piece of scrap paper, or actively ignoring an email attachment, most people agree that meeting notes are tedious and ineffective.Yet, if done right, note-taking could be THE most crucial element to creating and sustaining meeting success. And moving work forward.A Meeting is Only as Good as its Follow-throughIt’s likely you’ve left a meeting feeling positive about the next steps, but a few days later, your memory turns blurry. You feel confident things were decided, but can’t recall exactly what. You ask your colleagues, but their memories are unclear, too. You and your colleagues try to recreate the meeting conversation to figure out who was responsible for which tasks. Everyone remembers something different. How is is that such great meeting conversation led to lack of clarity and inaction?This is a common problem. Human memory is faulty and subjective. Unfortunately, in the workplace, relying on memory or incomplete meeting notes leads to loss of time, energy, morale, and money.The practice of taking effective meeting notes can address these issues. The three key purpose of meeting notes are:To help the team achieve the meeting results.Use the meeting notes to clarify, redirect or facilitate the conversation and ensure the discussion is moving towards the meeting objective. Meeting notes can help you quickly summarize the meeting outcomes at the close of the meeting, which helps the team feel a sense of accomplishment.To keep everyone on the same page.Sharing the meeting summary with people who did not attend the meeting will help them stay informed of the critical outcomes. No longer do you need to sit through a meeting just to be in the loop.To help the team follow through on the results.After making decisions and identifying next steps, everyone on the team can act with confidence and reference the notes at any time to stay aligned.A concise record of meeting outcomes, saved online in a location accessible to the team, is an antidote to the ambiguous meeting scenario described at the start of this section.Optimize your meeting notes by distilling them into one of four types. This keeps the note-taking process simple and efficient while also facilitating easier follow-through.Capture These 4 Types of Meeting NotesAction Items: Who will do what by whenClarify the action and assign a person to be responsible. If the task owner is not in the meeting, determine who will communicate and follow-up on the task. Adding a due date helps the owner prioritize this task within his/her other to-dos.Decisions: What was decided and whyCrystalize the conversation into a decision so everyone is on the same page. Adding a rationale statement that explains why this is the best decision is useful for anyone who missed the meeting. A clear rationale will also help you evaluate a decision when revisiting it in the future.Takeaways: Key insights, ‘aha’ moments or big ideasThink beyond all the chatter to identify the few concepts that are really worth remembering. Whether it’s two weeks, two months, or two years from now, some information will remain valuable and should be called out.Backburner Items: Off-agenda topics and ideas for future considerationKeep the conversation on track and save other great ideas in the backburner for later discussion. Assign an owner to each backburner item who will be responsible for ensuring the topic is raised at the right time.Start Where You’re ComfortableIf you’re ready to make collective notes a regular part of your team meetings, volunteer to be the first to take notes in your next meeting. Role model productive note-taking behavior and demonstrate its value by sharing your notes with the team after the meeting. When your team is on board with this new way of taking collective notes, invite your team to rotate the note-taker role so you can learn from each other.If you’re not yet ready to take notes for the team, you can practice sharpening your note-taking skills on your own. For example, try to capture critical information in your next 1-on-1 meeting and at the end, share a quick summary with your manager.Find the Right Tool to Organize Your Meeting NotesEveryone has his or her own system of organizing meeting notes. Whether you prefer taking handwritten notes or using technology tools, it helps to keep all your relevant notes in one place so you don’t waste time searching later on.You can use a paper notebook, word or Google document, or note-taking app to capture information. Consider using a technology tool like Meeteor, which is designed specifically for organizing critical meeting information and providing quick and easy access to past information and seamless note-sharing.Ready to learn more meeting best practices? Visit the Meeteor Blog and follow us on Twitter @meeteorHQ.About the AuthorMamie Kanfer Stewart is the founder and CEO of Meeteor, a meeting software that helps you leverage your meetings to drive productivity, build a healthy company culture, and achieve greater results. Follow Mamie on Twitter @mamieks.