LG 104

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
TOPIC TWO – Listening Techniques &
Note Taking
 Note Taking Skills
• Note taking is done by people who listen from lectures.
Also done from oral presentation and written sources.
Why do People/Students take Notes?
• They take notes for future study/revision while
preparing for tests and examinations.
• For writing in future time (essays, newspapers, radio
programming).
• They can be used for recording evidence such as to be
used in courts.
• They are valuable clues to what information the
teacher or speaker thinks, and are the key points in
understanding a subject.
Why do People/Students take Notes?
Cont…
• To assure ourselves the availability of the
material when we need them e.g. when you
go in library next time you don’t find the book.
• Notes simplify the process of studying
(sometimes books contain unnecessary issues
while notes have all important points for
revision.
• People/students take notes in order to be able
to teach others.
Why do People/Students take Notes?
Cont…
• They are useful on job for recording meetings
and seminars.
• Help to have a permanent written record of
main points & supplementary details one may
refer to it latter.
• Taking notes helps one to focus and
concentrate in class or while listening to a
speaker on television, at conference hall or
lecture room/theater.
 Note Taking Techniques
1. Organisation & Layout of Notes
• The format in which you make notes depends
on the subject and whether they are from
reading text or from a lecture. There are 3
forms:
• Outline notes
• Branching notes
• Tabulated notes
 1.1 Outline Form of Notes
• Notes from a lecture/book should reflect the way
in which the lecturer/author has organized his
information.
• Main section and subsection should be separated
in notes by:
• Numbering,
• Spacing,
• Capitalisation, and
• Indentation which can all be used to show
sections clearly.
 Outline Form of Notes cont…
• You must distinguish between main and
subsidiary ideas, and also indicate relationship
between them.
These are shown by:
• i. Arabic numerals: 1.2.3.4.5… (it can be used with
decimals)
• ii. Roman numerals: I, II, III, IV, V…
• iii. Letters A, B, C, D, E…
• Note: number (ii &iii) can either be used in
upper/lower cases.
 Outline Form of Notes cont…
• The following is a sample of how outline notes can be made:
• I. Main Idea
• A. Subsidiary idea to I
• B. Subsidiary idea to I
• 1. Subsidiary idea to B
• 2. Subsidiary idea to B
• a) Subsidiary idea to 2
• b) Subsidiary idea to 2
• II. Main Idea
• A. Subsidiary idea to II
• B. Subsidiary idea to II
• C. Subsidiary idea to II
 Outline Form of Notes cont…
• Major Aspects of Aids
• I. Transmission of AIDS
• A. Transfusions
• B. Body fluids
• 1. Sexual
• 2. Non-sexual
• II. Societal Consequences of AIDS
• A. Epidemic disease pattern
• 1. Teenagers
• 2. Women
• 3. Homosexuals
B. AIDS babies
• C. Overburdened health care
• D. Increased homophobia
•
• III. Research solution to AIDS
• A. HIV virus
• B. Other viruses
 1.2 Branching Notes
• This type is not common but equally useful. It enables to see
the ideas very clearly.
Organisation Ti me Constraints What they know

Material Selection Logical General part Audience

Collection What they don’t

Useful
know
Relevance Consideration
Interest
for making Oral
Presentation Making eye contact
Introduce a talk

Language Use Concluding a talk Talking through notes Delivery

Move to a New Point Invite Comments Self-composure Voice Variation
 1.3 Tabulated Notes
• These are notes summarised using tables. It is
useful in note taking because it is capable of
carrying much information in few words. It is also
easier, using tables, to show the relationship
between the main points and the subordinate
points using columns & raws.
• Tabulated notes are very useful in writing
summaries of reports where opinions are
solicited for such reports. There is no need for
indentation and numbering.
 1.3 Tabulated Notes cont…
• E.g.Tabulated Notes
Item Positive Negative Mortality Statistics
Effects Effects
Developed Poor
Countries Countries
Tobacco

Alcohol

Accident

Illegal Drugs
 2. Taking Notes from Reading Texts
• Before taking notes from the text survey the
relevance of the text first if it suits your
purpose of study. Once you get a relevant
section for your study please do the following:
• Look at the headings, sub-headings of the
chapters of the text; and check the beginnings
and ends of paragraphs to get a general idea
of the chapter or paragraph.
Taking Notes from Reading Texts cont…
• Look for important ideas only. Some prefer to earmark
important points by underlining or highlighting (but
this is not allowed with public properties). Don’t
scribble or mark on the textbook.
• Make summaries of source materials rather than direct
quotations.
• Leave spaces between points for further comments,
examples and citations.
• Highlight key words in order to expand them with
definitions and illustrations later.
• In the summaries you take please retain the original
structure of the text.
Taking Notes from Reading Texts cont…
• In any note taking please record the following:
the name of the author; the year of
publication; the title of the article, book, or
journal; the volume & issue number (in the
case of a journal); the name of the publisher;
the place of publication; the pages where your
notes come from (in the case articles in
journals or chapters in books).
 3. Taking Notes from the Lectures
• Note taking skills Before Class
• 1.Develop a mindset which is geared towards listening.
• 2.Go over the materials of the previous lecture while
waiting for the next lecture to begin.
• 3. Preview the assigned readings to establish some
background knowledge.
• 4. Determine what you know and what you do not
know about the material in order to focus your
listening or learning.
• 5.Skim relevant reading assignments to acquaint you
with the main ideas, new technical terms etc.
 Note taking skills Before Class cont..
• 6. Do what you can to improve your physical
and mental alertness (tiredness, hunger,
sleepiness, the place where you sit in the
classroom, can affect motivation and
attention).
• 7.Choose note books that will enhance your
systematic note – taking; have a separate note
book with full sized pages for each course.
• 8. Develop the positive intention to listen.
 Strategies of Note taking in lectures and
Seminars during Class Session
• Arrive on time
• Sit where you can see and hear the speaker
easily
• Make sure you are an active listener
• Concentrate on what the speaker is saying
• Develop a flexible note-taking strategy
• Review your notes after the lecture
• Use abbreviations when necessary
 Strategies of Note taking in lectures
and seminars during Class cont…
• Ask yourself: what questions does this lecture answer?
• Use symbols (where necessary or important) e.g.= equals, >
more, % percentage.
• Organize your notes as a way to review and get prepared for
exams.
• Write the notes in your own words, but if you cannot don’t let
it take away your attention from the lecture.
• Ask questions if you don’t understand: The lecturer/presenter
may give time for questions at the end of the class.
Otherwise, approach the lecturer or presenter after the class.
 Identifying Main Ideas & Major
Details
• During the process of listening from a lecture/talk
the following issues should be taken into
consideration so as capture the intent of the
lecture or speech:
• The first thing to do while you are in a lecture
room is to write the lecture topic, followed by the
name of the lecturer, and date of the lecture.
• During the delivery of the lecture, you need to
identify important points by paying attention to
the speaker/instructor where he/she emphasizes
points by:
 Identifying Main Ideas & Major
Details cont…
• Drawing attention to important points by saying
that they are important.
• Saying what needs to be remembered in each
point.
• Citing/showing examples or facts relating to each
point.
• Using clues such as, remember…, most of all…,
implicitly…, to sum up…,
• What is written on the chalk board.
 Identifying Main Ideas & Major
Details cont…
• Does he/she repeats idea/phrase/point
several/number of times or emphasing its
importance by his/her tone of voice/by
gestures/other non-verbal features.
• Variation of voice (rising the pitch, speaking
loudly, reducing the speed) at an important point,
or by using other paralanguage features.
• Using transitional markers by saying for instance:
the 1st point, the 2nd argument, the next.
 3.1 Expressions Used in a Lecture
• There are number of expressions lecturers or
other speakers use to signal various things in a
lecture/talk. As a student/listener you should
be able to recognize the things speakers
do/signify/mean/when using these
expressions. Some of these language
expressions and things they signal are:
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• a) Introducing the topic:
• “The topic of this lecture is about/states…”
• “Today’s talk/discussion/lecture topic is about... ”
• “My presentation is concerned with…”
• b) Indicating the structure of the talk/presentation:
• “I intend to divide the talk into… ”
• “This presentation is divided into… ”
• c) Starting the talk/presentation:
• “Let’s look first of all at…”
• “I shall begin/start by looking at… ”
• “I would like to start by… ”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• d) Moving to a new section:
• “Let’s turn our attention to… ”
• “Now we can move on to the next section… ”
• “Turning now to… ”
• “Next thing to consider is… ”
• e) Adding a new point:
• “Further more…”
• “In addition to what we saw/heard…”
• “Another point we should look at/or consider…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• f) Clarifying a point:
• “What I mean by this is…”
• “That is to say…”
• “In other words…”
• “To put it more clearly…”
• g) Illustrating a point/giving examples:
• “Let’s take the example of…”
• “Let me give an example…”
• “Let me illustrate with an example…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• h) Stressing a point:
• “Let me remind you the factors I have mentioned…”
• “Let me just repeat that…”
• “Just to go over that again…”
• i) Drawing conclusions:
• “So we can see that…”
• “Therefore, we can come to a conclusion that…”
• “So, from these examples/results we can say that…”
 Expressions Used in a Lecture cont…
• j) Giving personal opinion:
• “In my opinion then…”
• “I think that…”
• “In my view…”
• k) Concluding a lecture/talk:
• “To sum up then…”
• “To finish then…”
• “I will conclude by…”
• “I will finish then by…”
 3.2 Coping with the Lecturer’s Speed
• Other speakers are too fast when they speak, to
the extent that one may not catch up with the
speed or following accurately the lecture.
• So the following principles may guide a listener so
as not to be left behind:
• Familiarizing with brevity. Write your notes briefly
but clearly.
• Write only the main points, differentiate between
main and minor points. Don’t write everything.
 Principles guiding the listener cont…
• Organize your points in an outline forms rather
than writing in a continuous form. Put your notes
in skeleton form.
• Balance your time to listen to the lecture and
take notes.
• Leave out all words considered
redundant/unimportant for grasping intended
meaning and grammatical words, for example, is,
was, the, would, that…
• Avoid using longer expressions where shorter
ones can do.
 3.2.1 How to Shorten your Sentences
• Use abbreviation: for instance;
• cf - compare;
• Nb- Nota Bene;
• P.a - Per annum;
• viz – namely;
• vs – against;
• i.e. – that is.
How to Shorten your Sentences cont…
• Use symbols and signs: For example,
• The symbol = means the same, equals.
• +/& - means plus, and, in addition to.
• Use of figures instead of words: For example, 2200, 1567,
• Omit unnecessary words: For example,
• E.A, E.U, U.N,
• Combine related ideas or points into shorter sentences: For
example:
• The President of Tanzania, Dr. Joseph John Pombe Magufuli
visited the university of Dodoma and had a chance to
address the students and staff.
 4. Note taking skills After Class
• Clear up any questions or doubts raised by the
lecture by asking either the teacher or
classmates.
• Fill in missing points or misunderstood term from
text or other sources.
• Edit your notes: Label main points, add questions
to be answered. Highlight key points in the notes
with different colours of ink.
• Think over what you have learnt; make separate
notes of your ideas and reflections
 Note taking skills After Class cont...
• Recognizing the main ideas.
• Identifying what information is relevant to your
task.
• Having a system of note taking that works for
you.
• Reducing the information to note and diagram
format.
• Where possible, putting the information in your
own words.
• Recording the source of the information.