Thursday, March 31, 2016

Conference note-taking strategies

With General Conference right around the corner, I thought I'd quickly share some note-taking strategies. My experience with General Conference is a bit different now that I have small kids. They're not old enough to be engaged in watching, but we try to help them learn by having them listen for certain words or playing a matching game with the faces of the church leaders.
I still try to take notes for myself, but gone are the days when I can just focus for a whole talk and transcribe all the thoughts and impressions I have. I have found that using note cards is perfect for writing down quick thoughts in between listening, talking/playing with the kids, or (I have to admit) dozing off.

Here are some ideas I've tried in the past:
  • Organize notes by role/stewardship. I write down a different stewardship on each note card. These include such as father, husband, self, neighbor/friend, home teacher (I write out the names of each person I home teach), and scoutmaster (my current calling). As I listen to conference I shuffle the cards around and write down impressions.
  • Organize notes by question. Write down a different question on each one, and as I listen to conference, jot down answers that come.
  • Try a more visual approach to note taking. Pick your favorite graphic organizer and try to connect ideas as the talk progresses. I've found it helps me see new ideas and themes that I otherwise wouldn't have picked up on.
The last couple conferences, I've really liked the stewardship approach. It's simple and leads to very actionable next steps. The visual approach I've only tried for a few talks, but I'm going to give it another go this weekend.

Any other conference strategies out there? I'm always interested to hear how other people experience conference, and how they get the most out of it.

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