Deposition Tips

It has been over 18 months since I’ve taken a deposition, so I’ll pass this one on for what it is worth:  Take Great Notes from LifeHacker.  Some great tips for general notetaking, and a few that would work well for depositions.  For instance:

[U]se a simple system of symbols to make off 4 different information types in the column space left in the margin.

• [ ] A square checkbox denotes a to do item
• ( ) A circle indicates a task to be assigned to someone else
• * An asterisk is an important fact
• ? A question mark goes next to items to research or ask about

After the meeting, a quick vertical scan of the margin area makes it easy to add tasks to your to do list and calendar, send out requests to others, and further research questions. (This method is the brainchild of Michael Hyatt, someone who clearly has mastered the art of attending meetings.)