Creating an outline – as discussed earlier, having an outline based on the agenda makes it easy for you to simply jot down notes ideas under each item as you go along. If you are taking notes by hand, consider including space below each item on your outline for your hand-written notes. Check-off attendees as they enter the room – if you know the meeting attendees, you can check them off as they arrive, if not have folks introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or circulate an attendance list they can check-off themselves.
Record decisions or notes on action items in your outline as soon as they occur to be sure they are recorded accurately
Ask for clarification if necessary – for example, if the group moves on without making a decision or an obvious conclusion, ask for clarification of the decision and/or next steps involved.
Don’t try to capture it all – you can’t keep up if you try to write down the conversation verbatim, so be sure to simply write just the decisions, assignments, action steps, etc.
Record it – literally, if you are concerned about being able to keep up with note taking, consider recording the meeting but be sure to let participants know they are being recording. While you don’t want to use the recording to create a word-for-word transcript of the meeting, the recording can come in handy if you need clarification.