How to take notes like a project manager

Project Managers are involved in lots of meetings, and so need to know how to take effective notes! I have been learning this the past year, so thought I'd condense it all into a short video! I hope this helps prepare you if you are going into industry, or trying out project management for the first time!

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[taerikee]

I chuckle whenever someone says all project managers do is tell people what to do because I work with software developers and I don't know anything about coding so I couldn't possibly tell them what to do. In reality I'm asking them what needs to be done and then I'm just following up to make sure they did the thing.

[andycotterill]

Your head is for having ideas not holding them. So true. Keep everything that has your attention externalised for a real sense or relief and control. 😊

[davidcooper]

Seasoned PM here, you are spot on. I hated being the secretary. But to this day as a consultant, during meetings, pull out my notebook and use most of the techniques you mention. Translating long winded thoughts into a few key words is a real talent.

[nicotomo]

Great tips!

I've got two additions that are good for project managers, but not necessarily for all note takers…

1. Before meetings begin you should start with an AGENDA!
2. At the end of a meeting you should have ACTION ITEMS!

[smashogre]

Super helpful video! I'm not a project manager myself, but I have great appreciation for the value that they add. The first time I was part of a project that was being run by a PMP, it was game changing. It seemed so simple. They would identify a task (or "action item" for additional gravitas) and a target date, and then came the kicker. They'd ask, "Who is going to take that one?" while glancing around at all of us. That first time, the sound of crickets was deafening. (Yes, I was one of the crickets.) Fortunately, they didn't give up on us (nor did our managers) and stuff started getting done. Wow that was quite the ramble. Thanks for making that video and much success to you!

[paullight]

Meeting attendees talk so fast that I jot down the start of their statements (with name initials) and return back when the meeting slows down and add more info. to those abandoned statements. Immediately after the meeting I proofread, correct my scribbles, and flesh out the notes from my soon-to-be-lost short-term memory. Writing down the time and location of the meeting helps my recall later, too. Thanks for the practical instruction, James!

[ohdjrp]

What I remember was that people in the meeting room always carried the previous minutes with them or multi-copied by the office secretary to be distributed. They would write over notes on pending or ongoing key issues and they would write new ones at the backside. But only one person would jot down all the relevant things people talked about in the meeting and that would be drafted and sent to those concerned for comments and finally for final issuance.

[Martin]

I‘ve always a little smile on my face, when juniors enter the room with no notes at all. Going to be a brilliant meeting.
They’re likely to forget everything soon

[Degli]

What a great video! From someone who is just starting their Project Management journey, thank you!

[indriq]

I love the sentence: Your brain is for having ideas not for holding them. I'll put this on the wall :)

[yutubl]

PM need also to take care of essential unrealistic expections like schedule plan or feature lists and communicate considerations early enough to adopt or create ideas in a written form getting a project done with reasonable/minimum results accepted by product/project owners. Early PM meetings are not the right time for estimating, calculating or communicating unrealistic schedule plans, but follow up meetings have to.

[shanemartin]

Thanks mate. Appreciate your time. Good tips.

[chaimaeelkartat]

Thank you for the very neat tips ! So helpful

[morchedlafferty]

Thank you for making such a vid! Keep this up!

[billknight]

Great advice! Also, note the relationships between different topics that are interconnected as they come up throughout the meeting. I tend to draw a lot of arrows betweenbullet points.

[rajasalil]

Thanks, new to BA role. My PM is leaving and I am asked to lead meetings. This really helped

[quarkquark]

It's not a note-taking rabbit hole until you've learnt Emacs org-mode!

[gregross]

Thanks James... I'm new to a PM role and looking for all of the advice I can get.

[yahianasr]

Your channel is really cool and the video is fun to watch, 👍

[ENetArch]

Project Management 101 ... Manage Expectations. Many people misconstrue this as keep the lines of communication open, but that over generalization misses the key points the author pointed out. People make agreements on when things will be delivered and how. If you don't managed those processes and make sure that they meet everyone's expectations, your project will fail. No matter how large or small. ..

Or, in short .. everyone has expectations on when and how something will be done. If you want to keep them happy, manage their expectations.