I use what I know as the the "Bill Gates method". Separate things into:
* important points
* questions to ask, either during the meeting or afterwards. If it gets answered during the meeting, I put the answer under 'important points' and cross out the question.
* things for you to do after the meeting
* any commitments others take on which you want to keep track of
I do this by entering them on different areas of the page, others use different symbols at the beggining of the line (?, !, *, @).
As soon as I finish the meeting, I share the notes with everybody.
* Have a tangentially related person attend and take notes so the main participants can concentrate. Instead of jotting down your own questions, speak them aloud for everyone including the scribe to hear.
If you don't have a dedicated assistant, set up a rotation with your team to scribe for each other.
Only jot down a few brief personal notes for yourself.
* important points
* questions to ask, either during the meeting or afterwards. If it gets answered during the meeting, I put the answer under 'important points' and cross out the question.
* things for you to do after the meeting
* any commitments others take on which you want to keep track of
I do this by entering them on different areas of the page, others use different symbols at the beggining of the line (?, !, *, @).
As soon as I finish the meeting, I share the notes with everybody.