How to take good notes

Anyone have any tips about how to get down all important details in a meeting that might last several hours?

I find it really hard to concentrate for that period of time, and sometimes notice my attention dropping in longer meetings. I'm trying to find a way to make sure I can pick up all of the critical information and stay attentive to the entire meeting.

 

Use the agenda of the meeting as a starting place. I assume you're talking notes on a computer; #1 use OneNote. #2 separate the one note page based on agenda item and categories things as Decision Point, action item, follow up, or other. These 4 buckets will allow you capture conversation throughout a meeting much more quickly.

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

As bfin said it's always good to use the agenda and stick to it. During the meeting I usually try to focus on writing down as many key points as possible while passing on everything I consider to be completely useless from the perspetive of the project's objectives. It allows me to keep myself alert for a surprisingly long amount of time.

I like writing in hashtags and numbers, highlighting everything I believe is important. While taking notes I always try do it as if I was already writing some kind of a summary for the client or my own management.

After the meeting it's essential to go through your notes in order to reorganize it, preferably while using something like the Cornell note-taking system. I've used it throughout my academic years and I find it extremely effective not only for learning purposes.

 

I don't know why this hasn't been suggested yet, but I follow the Litt method. I often record meetings, noting down the most basic points on paper, so I know how I should classify the content of the meeting. It's so that I don't zone out during mundane discussions (it's a severe problem for me). Later that afternoon/evening, it usually takes me an hour to transcribe only the most important points after sifting through the BS stuff.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

if I caught one of my employees recording me without permission, they would be in big trouble and maybe even fired. if my boss did it to me I would insist that he never do it again or I would quit on the spot. it's a much bigger deal than you think. if you are going to record you need to state it upfront in the meeting (phone, web, in person or whatever other way): I am going to record this meeting, does anyone have any objections? ass covered.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

The idea of recording and then transcribing is probably the best way to make sure that you don't miss anything, but I agree with the_gekko: very easy to get in deep trouble

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 
the_gekko:

if I caught one of my employees recording me without permission, they would be in big trouble and maybe even fired. if my boss did it to me I would insist that he never do it again or I would quit on the spot. it's a much bigger deal than you think. if you are going to record you need to state it upfront in the meeting (phone, web, in person or whatever other way): I am going to record this meeting, does anyone have any objections? ass covered.

I think this is the best call of action to take, and maybe I should've done it earlier. I think I'll mention it now, after carrying a real recorder to a meeting and declaring it in my possession. If they refuse, I'll still have the pen.

GoldenCinderblock: "I keep spending all my money on exotic fish so my armor sucks. Is it possible to romance multiple females? I got with the blue chick so far but I am also interested in the electronic chick and the face mask chick."
 

mbamfinquestions I'm a bit old school and will take notes using a pen and pad for meetings where I know there is going to be a healthy bit of brainstorming and fluff with some value-added content.

List out who is at the meeting and what their title is and then assign an acronym for them (e.g. John Doe, VP of Products, JD). Once you do this whenever a key topic or question is raised put a bullet followed by the question and then all the subsequent responses and thoughts that you feel are relevant next to who said what.

If at anytime a question is posed that no one has an immediate answer for and no one seems to want to find out write these off to the side in a bubble. Look in these and see if you can provide an answer later on and shoot out an email (shows initiative).

 

Taking notes is easy if you're actually absorbing what's being talked about in the meeting because you understand the content on a fundamental level

If not, then scribble down as much as you can as fast as you can without thinking, and hope to dear god you can decipher it later after a glass of scotch and a good polishing of the meat musket

 

If you are not good at using your computer, better to start taking note using the old ways, pen and paper will do it's easy to switch page, erase, and add a footnote. and always keep in your mind to stay focus with the meetings. And if you understand the discussion in the meetings you can easily recall all the details that you are missing.

 

Ideally, you want to be quick/engaged enough in the moment that you can recognize and anticipate different verticals within the conversation emerging. That way, thoughts/responses can be organized in a way that pertains to subject matter. Essentially, the ideal is to take notes that look like an outline:

  1. [Top level issue] a. [Consideration 1] b. [Consideration 2] i. [Counterpoint 1] -[Resolution 1] ii. [Counterpoint 2] c. [Consideration 3]

And so on, for each main issue.

Also, I find that when being the note taker, there are two general realms of things to pay attention to:

  1. Consensus Items
  2. Action Items

With Consensus Items, you want to be generating an accurate record of the consensus reached by those in the meeting. Say that we're discussing the subject "what are the risks?". You want to make note of (1) all the risks people agree on, (2) risks that people don't agree on, and who is for/against each of these disputed points. This sort of note taking is like mapping the conversation - the idea is to generate a faithful record of who said what, when, what was disputed, etc., so that a month afterwards, the conversation can be faithfully reconstructed from your notes.

With Action Items, there is typically some discrete thing that needs to be done and an attendant timeline. Make sure to capture these essential mission-critical details so that the process can meet those criteria.

EDIT: It seems like your main problem is having too much input and needing to decide what goes on the page.

My advice, is skip the bullshit. Learn to discern the difference between the point being made and the verbose phrasing that people use to convey the point. Most things people say have a "TL; DR" version. Aim to capture and synthesize that.

Array
 

the agenda is my starting point and i scribble keywords and important phrases. if a topic concerns me directly then I expand into an outline tree by topic and take more detailed notes to make sure I don't miss important points. i know some folks who know shorthand and they use it really well. i think that is too much effort so i just stick to my chicken scratch. sometimes even if just paraphrasing the discussion helps me personally for longer term retention.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

Take copious notes. When reviewing you will be amazed what comes back to you. Reach out to anyone else in the meeting if there is something you are not 100% on. Nobody is going to retain 100%.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 
Best Response

In my bank training we went through different note taking systems and were to told to use whichever fit best, lol. For my own work, I ended up combining a few into one. The layout is simple, I format the page with a simple line to between a section for notes/details (top 2/3 page) and action items (bottom 1/3 page).

In the note section, I either use headers from the agenda or make my own based upon what I think may be discussed. If something is discussed that fits into one of my categories, I'll note it under the header. If not, I'll add a new header. I use the margins to link relationships between topics and/or describe the sequence.

For action items, it's pretty basic. Anything that needs a follow-up or "action", I jot in that space. This could even be side items, such as an optional task to talk to another associate regarding a detail the client spoke about, etc.

After a meeting, I like to provide a brief recap and make sure I have all the major details down. Once I'm back to my desk, I load the action items into my outlook or other task tool. For simplicity, I just email the notes to myself with a date/time/client subject.

It's not a perfect system, but it works for me.

 

Stick with the agenda, read it before the meeting starts. Try to know what is expected on the call. On phone, make sure you know who is on the call, you can check the calendar for the list of attendees. Type everything what you listen (you never know what’s important and what is not: suggested by a very senior banker). Use short forms to maintain pace as sometimes the speaker may be talking faster than you are typing. Use short forms: acc for accounting, mkt for marketing, up/dn, inc/dcr, even names such as, Barbara as B, Brandon as Br etc.) and make them standard shortcuts in your typing habits so that next time when you review the transcript you should know what you wrote (strategy = str , structure = stru , so you don’t get confused). I usually open an email template in outlook and type down everything I hear. After the call, just trim/skim it down, edit it and keep in your records. Suggest to edit it as soon as the call / meeting is over, some discussions are fresh in memory but lost after few hours/days. Use bullets and avoid long words such as technically, usually, in the meantime, etc., when taking notes.

 

As someone that is typically in 2-3 hour meetings that moves rapidly without a lot of time to compile nice neat notes afterwards, I've worked out the following and taught my team the following which they've had success with:

1) Take notes by hand, your recall of the meeting will be much higher later. Plus, typing on a computer pisses other people off massively.

2) Come up with your own short hand. Write it like you are texting it. Use *, # or whatever symbol next to a phrase to signify something important for you like - key point, follow up on this, ask a question after the meeting etc. It's your notes - only you'll need to be able to interprete them.

3) Write your conclusions / thoughts etc at the bottom of the note immediately at the close of the meeting so you don't loose anything.

Everything above means you'll likely spend more time engaged in the discussion and thinking so you can add value versus trying to record it all.

I hope this helps.

 

From my experience going through multiple rounds of their accelerated sophomore program:

The alum who interviewed me stated he needed to pick up my notes because of confidentiality reasons. Same reason your notes/test from the PST are always taken up. This is because the cases are based on actual companies McK has worked on. I was actually surprised how little attention they paid to my notes during the interview itself.

 

Est quos consequatur possimus quas eum. Deleniti porro tenetur voluptas rerum. Libero quia est deleniti autem. Odio quaerat illo rerum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”