There’s always that awkward silence at the beginning of meetings when someone asks, “Who wants to be the note taker?”
People look at others in the room; hoping someone else will step in.
Today I’m going to share why I think you should always be the note taker.
Before I get to my logic, here’s what you should do.
- At the beginning of the meeting say, “I’ll take notes.”
- Share your screen.
- Take notes: write down what people say, the agreements, the disagreements, the options, the trade-offs, the decisions, the action items.
- Do it as often as you can.
Being the note taker has so many benefits.
- It forces active listening. You don’t have the luxury of zoning out. You put yourself in a position where you must listen.
- It forces you to understand. If it’s a hard problem, you have to understand it to write coherent notes. Don’t be scared by this. You can always ask someone to clarify, or asking them to sense check your notes in real time.
- You get to influence the decision. With the pen comes the opportunity focus the group, cut through the mess, and get to a decision.
- It’s an attitude. The note taker who turns up with energy and confidence doesn’t get swallowed up by the size of the problem. One word and one sentence at a time, they’re helping the group get closer to a solution.
I’ve seen senior leaders at Meta doing this, and their meetings are some of the most focused and impactful I’ve ever seen.
This isn’t a coincidence.
Always be the note taker.
Note: Of course there are definitely exceptions to this rule—such as large meetings, or if you’re not involved in the core conversation or decision. But most of the time, you can be the note taker.