But how can you focus on note taking when you have other things on your mind such as networking, the other sessions you have to attend, and possibly some additional work you have to do? Here are three things you should keep in mind:

• Remember that being present and attentive is your priority. This means actively listening, looking at visual aids, and paying attention to the lecture itself. While you can record audio, video, or view live tweets, these must be for reference only and not a substitute for the real thing. It makes no sense to sit in an auditorium for an hour only to repeat that hour via a recording because you were too busy taking notes or getting to know the person beside you to digest the finer details.
• Know why you’re taking down notes. Is it for faster recall or to record your own insight? Will you be using your notes to write a blog post or make a presentation at work? The reasons behind your note-taking will help you determine the best approach and tools to use.
• Get as much information as you can about the tech specs of the event beforehand. Will there be free internet access available? How reliable is it and will be be available throughout the entire venue? Will you be able to plug or charge your devices easily? This information can help you choose your tools accordingly.

With that out of the way, it’s only a matter of getting your notes down as efficiently as possible.

Using Tools to Improve Note-taking

According to a research paper on note taking, in an academic setting the average note-taking speed for students is 0.3 to 0.4 words per second, while lecturers speak at around 2 to 3 words per second. With this speed discrepancy it’s no wonder that most people find it hard to jot down concise yet complete notes. Still, there are ways to work around this:

• Don’t rely solely on text-based notes. While many of us are used to pen-and-paper note-taking methods, the difference in speech and writing speed means that we can’t rely on them alone. This is why we should look beyond written notes. We could include mindmaps, photos (of important slides, for example), or audio recording. Some apps that allow you to record in a variety of formats include Evernote, Springpad, FolderBoy (which Charles reviewed here), and Notepub.
• Use fast tools. Don’t just look for fast loading time or responsiveness, but note your own speed when using the tool. This means that some options aren’t ideal for many people, such as alphanumeric keypads and apps for handwriting or speech recognition. You can even use SMS abbreviations, shorthand, macros, and word completion apps to increase speed further.
• Process your notes. Directly after the lecture is the best time to enter the second phase of note-taking: information processing. This is where you’ll start to consult external sources for additional information and make connections among the things you’ve learned. You could do this by organizing all the material you’ve gathered and by making annotations. Some handy annotation tools include Apollo and A.nnotate.

Taking a cue from student life, don’t be afraid to borrow the notes of other attendees. You can borrow notes directly from people you have a strong rapport with, or wait for bloggers to post their own notes or articles summarizing the talk. They might include some points you’ve missed or make connections that you didn’t think of. Just be sure to offer to share your own notes and express that you’re looking for something supplementary. You don’t want to leave the impression that you’re asking them to do all your work for you.

It may take a lot of practice to become very effective at note-taking, but the important thing is to get better each time.

Share your note-taking tips below.

Photo by stock.xchng user christgr

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Enabling the Web Work Revolution

A new web app called NotePub seems to be devised around the principle that, for computerized note-taking to be as useful as the paper kind, it should also be as simple and hassle-free. Accordingly, NotePub is built around the concept of an easy-to-edit wiki.

Initially, I mistook simple for confusing, which is never really a good sign. NotePub immediately presents you with a field for typing, but also a navigation bar on the right. I clicked “Home”, thinking it would lead to some more explanation or a proper launch page, but was greeted only with what you see in the above screen shot. The “Home” page is customized depending on your login, and initially every visitor is logged in as “Anonymous”, with access to that profile and that home page, and any notes published under the “Anonymous” account.

After I figured that out, it took me another few minutes to figure out how to register, which I managed to find via the “Help” link in the navigation menu. Even then, clicking the link brought me to an anchor about halfway down the help page, so I had to scroll up to locate what I was looking for. Registration, it turns out, is simple. Just type your name in the identification field attached to any text entry box at the bottom of any page, and you will be prompted for your password, if you already have an account. If you don’t have an account, and the name you chose is available, you’ll be prompted to set one.

Once signed in, clicking the “Home” link will bring you to a list of your own notes, which is obviously much more useful. Included in your list of notes are the NotePub help notes, to show you how you might use the site, including tips for using NotePub at school, or on your mobile phone. From here, you can see that NotePub automatically scrolls any page to the latest addition, which is why I was finding navigation so bizarre before. It just isn’t the type of browsing I’m used to.

Despite all the failings I’ve pointed out above, there are some things about NotePub that could prove invaluable to a web worker, depending on your specific needs. The first is quick and easy access.  I mentioned above how confusing the interface was initially, but once I figured it out, it’s a snap. You can even bookmark a quick link which allows you to go directly to your notes and compose new ones without logging in. Not very secure, but definitely a plus if you just want to jot down someone’s number so you don’t forget. Plus you can drag and drop files into the text editor field to save them for later.

NotePub also has a frequent autosave feature so you won’t ever lose much of your work due to connectivity issues or browser crashes. Hovering over notes will show you how old it is, if and how many times its been linked to, and give you the option to email it, share it on Facebook, move it, delete it, and more. Once you get to know it, the interface is robust, and admirable for its economy.

There’s also mobile access to NotePub via cell phone browser, which really adds to its usefulness for web workers. You can access a special, pared-down version of the site that provides the perfect means for an autosaved, on-the-run quick note via a Safari home screen bookmark on my iPhone that’s then accessible via my computer later.

NotePub is not a perfect solution by any means. The UI is rough, and a little untamed for my tastes, and sometimes things aren’t quite as intuitive as they could be. That said, it provides a lot of great functionality underneath that flawed form, which goes a long way towards excusing its various warts. I’m definitely hoping for more to come out of NotePub, but in the meantime, I’ll try to excuse its poor manners so long as it keeps working for me.

What do you use for notetaking?

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