Date your notes and make the main topic visible - Having a date and a title, preferably visible at the top of the page, enables you to organize your notes and find them at a later date.
Don't write everything down – write down the important points - Avoid scribbling everything that is being said word for word. You would be so consumed by copying everything that you wouldn’t have the time or brain space to process the information.
Make short notes of the examples given - The speaker/teacher/presenter gives illustrations and anecdotes to back up certain main points, consider using keywords to make short notes of them.
Use color - Consider for example using one color for your key points, and another for the examples. Or use color to signal comments and opinions that are your own, rather than the speaker's.
Use illustration and drawing - By drawing our notes, we are forced to not just passively take down the information word for word but to process the information and translate them into our own sketches.
Use headings and sub-headings - Headings act as a mini-summary and help to break up long paragraphs of notes, and can bring clarity, especially when referring back to the notes later.
Keep your sentences short. Use bullet points and numbered lists - Ensure you include the keywords for more clarity. Use bullet points and numbered lists to help you keep your notes concise and easily accessible.
If you need to see how things are connected, consider using mind maps - Mindmaps can provide you with a visual representation of how concepts and ideas, and examples are connected, and can make information more memorable.