3.6.2. Exercises on Practicing Note-Taking

Andrew Gillies, the author of one of the best textbooks for students who study consecutive interpreting, suggests quite practical exercises for note-taking in consecutive interpreting as follows:

Note-taking: What and how to note should be part of any interpreting course and may differ greatly from one place to the next, however, the techniques for which I suggest practice exercises below are widely used. Each of these elements of note-taking can be practiced in isolation and without the time pressure associated with live note-taking. By practicing elements regularly and in isolation they become automatic more quickly, thus when we interpret we can concentrate on the many issues that are more important than note-taking. i.e. listening, comprehension, analysis and reformulation.

Noting less:

1. Listening to the news. Note one word per news item and then try to reproduce each item afterwards.

2. Reading newspaper articles. Note one word per paragraph and then try to recreate it afterwards.

3. One student prepares a short speech containing say 5 clear ideas – listeners agree to note only five words while listening to the speech and interpret on the basis of those notes.

4. Students must listen and analyze in order to decide which 5 words best represent the core ideas of the speech

5. Read newspaper articles. Take notes from an article using diagonal/vertical note-taking techniques – read article back from notes.

6. While still unfamiliar with the technique, practice note-taking from slow, short speeches.

7. Read articles highlighting the link words.

8. Practice note-taking from articles, noting only the link words in the margin (or only link words plus one word per paragraph). Reproduce as speech.

Other…

9. After a speech rewrite your notes in "fair copy". Concentrate on aspects of note-taking technique that you have been taught but perhaps ignored under the pressure of the moment. Try to arrive at a set of “ideal” notes (- ideal according to your own style of note-taking or that which you are using).

10. Speeches prepared for lessons and practice sessions should be noted/written in consecutive note style.

These notes will not correspond exactly to what might have been noted from a spoken speech however for the reasons explained below it can still be a very useful exercise. In preparation we practice note-taking techniques (i.e. brevity and clarity of our notes, familiarizing ourselves with the use of symbols or margins) without the time pressure associated with note-taking from live speeches. Also when giving the speech to colleagues students practice note reading and delivery. By giving speeches for fellow students you have not, therefore, sacrificed your own practice time but rather practiced different, but equally important, skills.

11. Practice taking notes while sitting at a desk or table, with the pad on your lap while sitting and while standing.

Depending on the market you end up working on or the meetings you attend you may have to be proficient at note-taking in all three positions. Practicing taking notes whilst sitting back in your chair with your legs crossed and the pad on your lap can also help you to relax while note-taking as the posture is naturally less tense than being hunched over a desk or table. [37:76-78; 38:211-212].

To improve the author’s note-taking skills, some fragments of Barack Obama’s speech were chosen (“State of the Union Address” given on January 27, 2010). The following fragment and its note would show us the visualization of pointing out the main ideas, as well as the usage of symbols, shortenings, and left-hand margin.

Fragment 1: “Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the President shall give to Congress information about the state of our Union. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. They've done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility, and they've done so in the midst of war and depression, at moments of great strife and great struggle.”

The possible variant of note:

Reading back note:

Our Cons^in	Наша Конституція
ǀǀ^0xtx	проголошує, що час від часу
Pr shll giv^0Cngrs	Президент повинен подавати до Конгресу
	інформацію щодо стану справ у державі (досл. у об’єднанні штатів)
For 220 yrs	Протягом 220 років
leaders duty	лідери країни виконували цей обов’язок.
Leaders so	Вони робили це
	в часи розквіту та спокою, розбрату и боротьби.

Some symbols used in this note:

ǀǀ^0, giv^0	Say, give (present tense)
xtx	Time to time (x= time)
	Done, fulfilled, carry out…
+	In addition, and, also…
	During, on the period of, in a time…
	Full stop

Some shortenings used in this note:

Consⁱⁿ – Constitution

Pr – President

Shll – Shall

Cngrs – Congress

Inf – information

Yrs – years

Midwr – midst of war

Dprsn – depression

The next fragment illustrate us the examples of links connected the ideas and also some peculiarities of shortenings and symbols’ usage.

Fragment 2: “Now, the House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes, and the lobbyists are trying to kill it. But we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back until we get it right. We've got to get it right.”

The possible variant of note:

Reading back note:

house pas^d	На сьогодні, Палата представників розглянула
	фінансову реформу з багатьма змінами,
+ lobist^s try^g ref	та лобісти намагаються відхилити реформу.
But we	Але ми
can let lob win	не можемо їм цього дозволити.
+ if	І якщо
	законопроект, що опиниться на моєму столі
isnt aprprte	не буде змістовним,
So Pr send^ll ←	то я (президент) відішлю його назад
we	допоки ми
get rit	не отримаємо його в належній редакції.