Speaker 1: These are my notes from a meeting at work, and these are notes from a very similar meeting, and there is a world of difference between the two sets of notes. Notice that on the left, I just wrote down the notes, but without any specific layout to help me take specific acts after the meeting. While on the right side, I have structured my layout in such a way that when I look back at my notes, I'm able to quickly recall all the important details, and I know what I need to do next in order to get the most benefit out of the meeting that I just had. So in this video right here, I'm going to show you how I take notes in meetings in such a way so that it can serve as a guide for me and my team long after the meeting is over. I developed these note-taking skills at PwC, where I worked alongside managers who showed me by example what a great set of notes should look like. This little skill right here has helped me tremendously throughout my career getting more projects done. And getting more projects done meant that I got better performance reviews, which in the end led to me making more and more money. To illustrate, I'm going to set up a mock meeting with my wife, who is a tax professional at a Big Four firm. So rather than sitting here and telling you what to do, I'm going to show you exactly how to do it. In today's meeting, we are discussing why we missed a tax payment to the IRS, and now our business is facing a $2,600 penalty. We are going to discuss the issues and come up with an actionable plan to stop this from happening again. Before the meeting begins, I write down the title of the meeting. And here's my tip number one. Always write down the date of the meeting, so when you go back to your notes in the future, you're not left guessing if it happened before or after an important email from your manager. Tip number two is that you break down your page into four distinctive sections. Section number one is the questions that you have. These questions will set up the meeting and put it on the right track. These could be the questions from the agenda email that was passed around. Section number two is notes, and this is where you're pretty much going to write down your general notes from the meeting. And these notes are not exactly action items because those will come next. The next section is going to be my to-do, and these are the action items for me from the meeting. Then section number four is other folks' to-do list, and these are action items from the meeting that are intended for other people in the meeting. Now, when you begin your meeting, it should be beginning from the questions that you have written down. And this is my tip number three. Always have questions sent out in an agenda in the invite of the meeting or in a separate email because people will feel much more prepared walking into the room when they have already read the questions that are going to be discussed in the meeting. Now, let's jump into the meeting. All right, so I set up this meeting because we missed the tax payment again, and this time we're on the hook for a penalty of $2,600. And the reason why I put this meeting together is because I want to make sure we don't put ourselves in this situation again.

Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, I'm glad you set this up because, really, it's crazy. We cannot have these kind of penalties.

Speaker 1: Okay, I agree. All right, so basically, I sent you an email with all the reasons why I think this happened, so let's go through them one by one and make sure that we align on that.

Speaker 2: You know what? I think I'm going to follow up with the equity admin to get these payments early so we don't have this situation happen again, okay?

Speaker 1: Okay, I agree. So is that okay if I take this as a to-do item for you?

Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, please do.

Speaker 1: Now, as you can see, Maria took ownership of following up with the equity admin. So go ahead and write this down in her to-do section. We continue the meeting and I make sure to fill out my to-do list as well as others. After I wrap up the meeting, I write down the assigned to-do list in an email and send it over to the group. This will put in a level of ownership now that you put it in writing and memorialize it in an email. Also, don't forget good handwriting because if your handwritten notes are not readable, they are worthless and you will find yourself asking the team redundant questions that reflect really badly on you. I guarantee you that if you take these simple steps, you'll be far more organized than 95% of people who walk into meetings unprepared. So a quick recap. Send out an agenda email or add it to the invite before the meeting. Two, write down today's date in your notes. Three, divide your notepad to four sections to be organized and then write down action items for you and for others. Then follow up with an email to reiterate action items. And also, don't forget to improve your handwriting so you can actually be able to read your own notes. Don't forget to check out my merch store if you want to show off your love for the accounting profession and also your love for yours truly. Also, check out my website for valuable courses and guides to supercharge your accounting career. All right. All right, so I set up this meeting because...

Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no, we're laughing.

Speaker 1: This time we're in a... This time we're in the hook. All right, so I set up this meeting because...