Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Take notes. Pretend you are required to take meeting minutes, whether you actually are or not, and try to write down everything that is discussed. Practice your shorthand and abbreviation skills, but make sure you’ll still know what you wrote down when the meeting is over.
Step2
Force yourself to ask questions. Whether you want clarification on what was just said or you don’t understand how the proposed deadline can possibly be met, speak up. This makes you look interested even if you aren’t, and will help you get the most out of the meeting. Just make sure you don’t ask a question that was just explicitly answered 5 minutes earlier; this will just make you look stupid and will point out to everyone that you are not paying attention.
Step3
If it’s a long meeting you’re suffering through, excuse yourself at least once for a 2 to 3 minute break. Whether it is to go to the restroom or to get a fresh cup of coffee, that brief time away from the conference room will help clear your head for a short time and allow you to re-focus again on what is being said.
Step4
If there are handouts to follow along with, actually look at the information and see how it relates to what is being said verbally. While charts and graphs are often great mediums to color and doodle on, doing so clearly points out to everyone around you that you are not paying attention.
Step5
When the meeting adjourns, make sure you know if any of the outcomes affect you specifically. Are you now supposed to get to work on that report that’s due in 2 weeks? Was another meeting scheduled as a follow-up? Review your own notes, as well as any official meeting minutes that were taken and distributed, and make sure you uphold your end of the bargain.
Novice 
