Four places good notes come from: where the relationship stands, where their work stands, next steps, and personal details. Keep only what you'll use.
The idea
In the book I laid out four kinds of information to walk away with from any meaningful interaction, first or fifteenth: the state of the relationship, the state of their business, the next steps, and the personal details. The newsletter has since moved to collecting less, so use the four as a checklist of where good notes come from, then keep only what passes the One-Year Test. The two that matter most are next steps, the oxygen that keeps a relationship breathing, and personal details, which are golden.
How to do it
Relationship: How warm are they toward you? How did the conversation feel? Where would you rank them now?
Their work: goals for the year, the biggest challenge, what they're proud of, what you could thank them for.
Next steps: business and personal. The intro you promised, the book you mentioned, the funny article that came to mind.
Personal details: anything human, plus shared social objects (same alma mater, same strong opinion about coffee).
Analog fan? Split a notebook page into four quadrants.
Filter: what will you want next year? Keep that. Delete the rest.
Example
The quick conference scribbles I recommend already cover several of the four: "Bob - CTO challenges, send article on team culture" is his work plus a next step. "Sarah, fintech, golden retriever named Kevin" is a personal detail.
Watch out for
Treat the four categories as a menu. Trying to remember everything about everyone is exhausting, and people give up.
The One-Year Test: Before writing a note about someone, ask what you'll want to remember about them next year. Write one thing, maybe two, then stop.
Notes the Recorder Can't Take: Let AI keep the transcript, then spend two minutes on four questions: how you feel, when their energy shifted, your energy, what to remember.
Capture, Summarize, Act: Capture next steps and personal details, condense them soon after, delete the rest, then act on the next steps and file the keepers.
Social Objects: Interactions revolve around shared objects, stories and details. Collect them and create them, because they become your reasons to connect.