Note-taking techniques

It is a good idea for the referee to have some techniques that he can use when taking his notes. It is not all things that he can manage to write down, but with the right techniques he can get it all.

Mind map: Mind mapping is a method for creating a kind of memory card of, for example, meetings that you want to have an overview of. The technique is simple and consists of writing each topic on the agenda on a piece of paper, and around the topics you note or draw the things that are said. It becomes a pattern of words and drawings, and perhaps you also want to use colors. By making a pattern rather than simply noting linearly, you form other connections in the brain that make it much easier for one to structure and remember. The advantage of making patterns and using colors instead of just text is that you can call up the information much faster and with a much larger overview.

Pen and paper: You can also do like the journalist when she takes notes with pen and paper during an interview. Here are some good tips from journalist Lise Lyngbye on how to structure your block.

• Make a margin on the left side of each sheet of paper on the block – and maybe also one at the bottom of the sheet for supplementary information. The margin on the left side is used to write comments to yourself. This is where you can mark particularly important statements and actual decisions can be marked with exclamation marks. This is also where you put a question mark if there is something you do not understand and must return to or seek answers elsewhere.
• Create your own character system with arrows, dots, abbreviations, etc. It's faster to write a character or an abbreviation rather than whole words or sentences.
• Practice the “delayed note technique”. This means that you wait to take notes until you have a finished statement to write down. While noting it, you listen to the next one, etc. But it takes time to learn.
• It can be an advantage to put the notes aside when you have to write the minutes. Often the words flow better when you write from memory than when you slavishly go through the notes. When the minutes are finished, you check with the notes, correct and rewrite.

The purpose of the meeting report and its readers

When you have your note-taking technique in place, it is a good idea to know the purpose of the meeting minutes, which is to document:

• what has been discussed
• what was decided
• who participated
• what needs to happen next in connection with a meeting or a series of meetings

The readers of a meeting report are:

• those who participated
• those who should have participated but canceled, and
• those who, as stakeholders (e.g. management), need to follow the development of a specific case.

Content and structure

Meeting minutes are often the occasion for many words, especially if there are many participants. You can make your report more efficient by building it up according to this structure.

• A title. The minutes must have a heading that is exactly about the meeting to which it refers. Remember the date. "Report of meeting in project group delta, 6 April 2013".
• Participants. In this section, the participants are mentioned and any their contact information. Those who were not present must also be mentioned under the list of participants. The referent can also be mentioned here.
• Agenda or topics covered. If there was no agenda for the meeting, reference is made to the subjects that were dealt with at the meeting.
• Decisions. This is the most important section. Here you list the decisions that have been made at the meeting, who is responsible for implementing the decision, as well as a possible the deadline for the start and/or end of the implementation.
• Tasks before the next meeting. Here you describe who does what and when before the next meeting. This section must of course be reflected in the agenda for the next meeting.
• Next meeting. The date of the next meeting is mentioned and where it will be held. Optionally, the agenda for the next meeting can be included as a subsection if the agenda has already been determined.

How many details should be included?

If it is important to include what the individual participants have said about each topic, attach the detailed report as an appendix. When you make your report based on the structure above, you ensure that the most important points, namely the decisions, are clarified so that they do not disappear in the detailed report.

Enjoy.