Five levels of note-taking in meetings
level 0: no one takes notes
Few things confuse me as much as being a meeting with no one taking notes. Is everyone’s memory so much better than my own? Is what’s being said just not that important? Are people fine with only retaining a few things and nothing else?
Luckily I’m not alone. Johanna Rothman seems to agree with me, at least for essential meetings:1
If a meeting is essential, it will have an agenda. It will have minutes. It will have a list of action items, and someone will manage them so that people are accountable for their action items.
- Modern Management Made Easy by Johanna Rothman
That’s why it’s level 0. There’s no reason to ever be at this level. Borrow some pen and paper. use your phone. The least you can do is take notes for yourself.