As an assistant, you're often asked to take notes at meetings and write up the minutes. But although this task is essential, it can quickly become tedious. Without mastering the appropriate techniques, it can also be time-consuming and, above all, stressful. Hélène Gronier, freelance minutes writer, suggests a few best practices for optimising your note-taking.
Good practice 1: Preparing for the meeting
Before the meeting, it's a good idea to get the agenda, the list of participants and, if possible, the documents that will be presented. This will enable you to prepare a framework for your minutes in advance, indicating the date, the participants and the items on the agenda. On the day, especially if you don't know the participants, drawing up a seating plan at the start of the meeting will help you to recognise who is speaking without having to ask...
Mind mapping: how to use a mind map to prepare your plot
Mind mapping allows you to visualise the agenda in the form of branches: each point can contain preparatory elements, names of speakers or expected decisions. It's a good way of visually structuring your notes from the outset.
Examples of tools: XMind, MindMeister, or simply paper and pencil.
Testimonial
"When I have the agenda for the town council meetings, I prepare a framework to help me with the deliberations. I go through each point in detail, adding items if I have any. Before the meeting, I show my outline to the mayor so that he can make any corrections or additions. So on the day, the outline is well organised".
Sylvie S, Town Hall Secretary.
Best practice 2: Active listening
Effective note-taking is based on active listening. The aim is not to transcribe every word, which is difficult to do these days when shorthand is so rare. Instead, it's about capturing the key points that will enable you to write a clear and concise report. Active listening means taking a full part in the discussion or presentation, in order to distinguish the main ideas from the secondary details. Not all the comments made deserve to be noted; only those that are significant should stand out clearly. Understanding these issues is essential if you are to transcribe the ideas correctly, especially when the comments are suitable for oral but not written communication.
Testimonial
"During the meeting, I don't write down everything, just the main points and the essential information.
Sylvie S.
Read also : 5 tips for practising active listening
Best practice 3: Automatic correction
An important tip for saving time when taking notes is to use the autocorrect feature. Depending on your version of Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, Google Workspace or WPS Office, the steps may vary, but in general it involves creating "abbreviations" linked to words or groups of words.
For example, typing a person's first name to see their surname appears is practical when your report is by name. You can also use abbreviations for common terms, such as "bp" for "a lot", or "ct" and "mt" for "short and medium term".
You should also remember to include abbreviations specific to your business, such as "cb" for "bank account" in the banking sector or "cat" for "catalogue" in product sales. Once you've created this list, memorise it and you'll notice a marked improvement in your note-taking speed.
Testimonial
"In the past, secretaries mastered shorthand. Today, it's rare, so it's useful to create abbreviations to simplify our note-taking.
Sylvie S.
Good practice 4: drafting
The writing phase is often when you realise how important it is to take good notes. Once the meeting is over, you're going to turn your rough notes into a structured, coherent document. You'll need to reread your notes carefully, organise them and, above all, identify the key points, the main ideas and the decisions taken.
If the participants have agreed - always ask for their agreement beforehand - recording the meeting using a Dictaphone or simply your telephone can be useful when you go back over your notes to listen to a particular passage and check its accuracy.
For example, you can use highlighters or colour codes to distinguish important points. If you have used note-taking software, take advantage of the tagging and search functions to find relevant information easily.
Once you've organised your notes, it's time to summarise the information:
- Write clear, concise sentences.
- Reformulate to improve clarity and fluidity.
- Eliminate redundancies.
Testimonial
"In my role As a legal assistant, I often have to summarise complex meetings. I've learnt to spot the key points and formulate them precisely, because every word can have legal implications.
Nadia B., legal assistant
Before finalising your document, take the time to reread it and check the spelling, grammar and clarity of your sentences. Pay particular attention to the spelling of surnames, so as not to make any mistakes, a situation that is often resented by the person concerned. Make sure that the minutes faithfully reflect the discussions at the meeting: even statements with which you disagree should be transcribed. And don't hesitate to ask a colleague for an outside perspective.
Testimonial
"If it's a contribution that really adds something, I'll make a note of it in the minutes. On the other hand, if it's just a small exchange between the participants, it won't be transcribed.
Sylvie S.
Checklist before, during and after the meeting
Read the agenda
Preparing a framework
Identify participants
Using your own abbreviations
Reorganising and reformulating notes
Reread and correct carefully
Check the accuracy of names and decisions
Writing reports from notes can seem a daunting task, but by following these suggestions for organisation and synthesis, you should be able to make the process much smoother. Another option is to take appropriate training, which will enable you to acquire these skills and discover other tips and techniques for note-taking and writing.
The plus: by mastering these skills, you can contribute to more effective communication within your team.
Training
Taking notes and writing minutes of meetings
A good note-taking technique is essential to save time and report on discussions and decisions taken. This course will teach you how to structure your notes and produce effective, accurate summaries.
Example of practical work: during a simulated meeting, the participants take notes and report back to the group. A collective analysis shows what was done well and what needs to be improved.
Participants speak out:
"Following these two days of training, I'm leaving with "realistic" tools and working methods that I'll be able to apply in my day-to-day professional life.
"I've discovered techniques that I didn't know before, including mind mapping, which I love because it helps me structure the main ideas.
Best practice 5: Digital tools and AI
Note-taking and correction tools and artificial intelligence (AI) can be useful. They make it easier to organise your ideas, improve the quality of your writing and enable you to write more effectively. By adopting these technologies, you can not only increase your productivity, but also enrich your written expression.
Structured note-taking MicrosoftOneNote, Notion, Evernote, etc.
These tools are perfect for organising your meetings, creating templates, tagging decisions and classifying by project.
Proofreading and editorial quality ProLexis, Antidote, Le Robert, etc.
These tools can be used to detect errors, improve style and correct proper nouns (provided you have created a lexicon specific to your company).
Artificial intelligence Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, etc.
With these tools, you can summarise your notes or rephrase sentences.
Mastering your note-taking means gaining clarity, time... and confidence in your day-to-day role.
