6 minute read · Updated October 2026
The real problem
People speak several times faster than anyone can write by hand, and faster than most people type accurately. So in a fast lecture, taking notes word for word fails by arithmetic. Worse, while you are busy copying one sentence you are not listening to the next, and listening is the part you cannot redo.
Good notes from a fast lecture are short, and most of the work on them happens before and after.
Before: ten minutes that change the hour
- Skim the slides or reading. You are not trying to learn it, only to see the shape: the three or four things this lecture is about.
- List the terms you do not know. When one comes up, you will recognise it as something to listen for instead of something to panic about.
- Put the slides beside your notes. If the slides are posted, never copy what is on them. Write only what the lecturer adds.
During: capture structure, not sentences
- Write the skeleton. The main claim, the steps of an argument or a method, the example used. A few words each.
- Listen for signals. “This is important.” “The key point is.” “You will need this for the exam.” A change of voice, or a point made twice. These are the lecturer telling you what to write.
- Write questions, not confusion. When you are lost, write the question, for example “why does revenue rise if demand is inelastic?”, and keep listening. A page of half-sentences helps nobody; a specific question can be answered later.
- Leave gaps on purpose. Miss something? Leave a blank line and a mark, and move on. Chasing the last sentence costs you the next three.
- Abbreviate hard. Decide your short forms for the course’s common words in week one and keep them.
- Copy numbers and formulas exactly. They are the one thing you cannot reconstruct from memory.
After: the same day, while you still remember
- Fill the gaps. Go through your marks and blanks using the slides, a classmate’s notes, or a recording if you have permission to make one.
- Answer your questions. Each one you wrote in the lecture is now a small task.
- Write a five-line summary from memory. If you cannot, that is what to revisit.
- Turn the key points into questions. This is the start of your flashcards and the quickest way to find out what you actually took in. See how to make flashcards that work.
Should you record the lecture?
A recording, or better a transcript, is the safety net that makes all of the above possible: you can listen instead of scrambling, because nothing is lost for good. Two cautions. First, a recording you never go back to is worth nothing, so use it to fill specific gaps, not to sit through the lecture twice. Second, ask first: most schools expect it, and this guide has an email you can send.
Where a tool like Audiken helps
Audiken was built for exactly this problem. It writes the transcript while you listen, lets you tap “Mark” at an important moment instead of writing, and explains a term or answers a question as it comes up, using your own course files. Afterwards the gaps are already filled. See how it works during a lecture.
Try it with your own lectures
Audiken transcribes what is said, explains things as they come up, and builds notes, documents and study material from your own files. Accounts are opening a few at a time.
Accounts are opening a few at a time. No card needed, and one email when yours is ready.