Trying to write full sentences while listening in a second language means you will lose one or the other. Usually both.

Do not write sentences

Write triggers, not transcripts. "budget → Q3, Ravi confirming" carries everything you need to reconstruct the point later.

Symbols worth adopting

  • → leads to, results in
  • ↑ ↓ increase, decrease
  • = is, means
  • ≠ is not, differs from
  • ? unclear, check later
  • ! important
  • @ at, regarding
  • # number

Standard abbreviations

  • w/ with, w/o without
  • b/c because
  • re: regarding
  • approx approximately
  • info, mgmt, dept, Q1, EOD, ASAP

Split the page

Draw a line down the page. Left side: what was said. Right side, narrower: actions and questions. At the end of the meeting, the right column is your entire follow-up list.

Mark what you missed

Put a question mark and keep going. Stopping to work out a missed word costs you the next three sentences — a bad trade. Ask at the end: "I missed the part about the vendor — could you go over that?"

Review within the hour

Spend three minutes filling gaps while it is fresh. Notes reviewed a week later are frequently unreadable, especially abbreviations you invented in the moment.

The purpose of notes is not to record everything. It is to let you reconstruct the meeting tomorrow.