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QUARTER NOTE

Learn to Love Taking Notes

David Freedman, PM2

What happens when you need to create a specific tenure ended as secretary of our group, I truly

speech, but you can’t clarify all the points you hated note taking.
want to make? Perhaps not so surprisingly, during my time
Taking notes used to be one of those tasks in Toastmasters, my attitude gradually changed
that I dreaded. I remember when I first learned to where I did almost a complete U-turn on

to take notes back in grade school. At the time, taking notes. In two of my clubs, we have the
I found it helpful, but only slightly. When your meeting role of the Master Listener. Simply put,
self-esteem isn’t that great to begin with and the Master Listener listens to the bulk of the
you’re taking classes like Social Studies where meeting, takes notes on each of the speakers,

you feel profoundly stupid, the notes only served and then gives a pop quiz to the rest of the
as a reminder that I had a lot more to learn. club near the end of the meeting. One of
Flash forward to my adult years, and I was often the benefits of the Master Listener role is
asked to take notes for different organizations. that it’s one of the easiest meeting roles to

Perhaps my least favorite time for note taking learn for newer members. However, it also
also became my most transformative experience provides an interesting challenge as the
for learning how to take notes correctly. From Master Listener also practices better
2013 to 2015, I served on the Talent Committee active listening skills in picking up the

at the Oregon Media Production Association various details of the meeting before
where we tried to create policy and events that creating questions for the rest of
would help actors and other talent excel at their the club to answer. As a better
craft. During my first year, I was asked to take active listener, you’re more

notes during our meetings. Not knowing how likely to catch details in
much information to take down, I ended up the speeches you might
recording almost every aspect of the meeting. have missed and that
I was gently taught by a couple of people to might prove invaluable to you

summarize the different parts of the meeting later as a speaker. As the Master
by delineating the main points of each subject Listener, I used the skills picked
we covered. Gradually synopsizing the meeting up from my time as the committee
became much easier, though by the time my secretary, took meticulous notes, and enjoyed

40 ONE COMMUNITY