We all have our different ways of taking notes in meetings, workshops or on courses; but have you ever tried to take sketch notes? This technique fires up both the visual and verbal parts of your brain to help you remember what you have jotted down.

Let me tell you a little about this alternative way of taking down information that will help you to adsorb and retain new knowledge. Sketch notes make it easier to look back over what you have jotted down to find what you information are looking for.

Taking sketch notes can involve a combination of simple sketches alongside key words and phrases. It can be a little tricky at first to get the hang of, but you don’t need to be an artist to use the sketch note technique. 

Common techniques for sketch notes

• Drawing clouds or speech bubbles around key words or phrases
• Stick figures – yes, the simple and effective stick-figure be effective to help tell the story in your notes 
• Symbols – simple line drawings are quick and easy to understand
• Colours – colour coding sections or even using colours to link topics 
• Use arrows to link concepts and build on ideas

How to get started in sketch notes

The way I got started with sketch notes was to plan out my note taking like a mind mapping diagram with the title of the topic in the middle and then whenever the speaker moved onto a new topic, there would be another line and cloud out of my title topic.

It can be a bit intimidating at first and you may feel like you won’t be able to keep up with what the speaker is saying when you first start sketch noting. But don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be neat and tidy, just get down the key points during the meeting and you can do back over your notes later, adding colours or extra sketches. Another thing to remember is to not write full sentences, just phrases and key stats.  Just keep persevering and it’ll become second nature. 

Example of a sketch note

Here is an example of a sketch note I did a while ago when Make Me A Plan’s Principal Planner, Anna Pascoe, was talking about wellness in her home town of Camborne. 

As you can see, I have only used key phrases and statistics that Anna talked about. I like to use colour to emphasise points, but much of the colour was added after the talk had finished when I had time to look over what had been said. 

So, give sketch notes a go and show us your results by tagging us on social media.

Remember:

Words + Visuals = Sketch noting! 

PS - If you are keen for some individual wellbeing tips to complement this Working Well life, check our Being Yourself Series with Jane. You can read the latest edition here: https://www.makemeaplan.com/news/hug-science/