Sermons can be a great source of inspiration. But if you have a poor memory, like I do, it’s easy to forget the information and application. For a long time I took basic notes, which was fine, but I wanted to do better. Which lead me to discovering the best way to take notes during a sermon: Sketchnoting.
What are sketchnotes and why do they matter?
Mike Rohde coined the term Sketchnotes when he developed a form of notetaking to help him at conferences. As a practicing christian, he soon started using this method at church.
Sketchnotes are a way of taking notes that uses visual and verbal elements. Instead of just words from top to bottom, you can add images, directions, colours and use more free form layouts.
By combining these two aspects of visual images and verbal text, you gain the benefits of being more attentive while taking notes and remembering what you are taking notes of.
There are some theories for why this works but basically a summary is that your whole brain is engaged and you have to think more deeply and creatively. This heightened attention and engagement leads to stronger memories being formed which last longer.
Oh and it’s fun to do as well.
Here’s a video explainer.
But how do you record EVERYTHING said
Okay, here’s the strange part of sketchnotes. You actually remember more, but recording less.
With this different style of note taking, you don’t have time to record everything; the information just goes too fast. Instead, you only record the key points.
In studies where students could use a laptop or handwrite, the typing students wrote down more but remembered less. The handwriting students remembered more because they couldn’t write everything down.
There are several reasons why including the more tactile experience which helps form stronger memories, however, one of the key aspects is that by not being able to write everything, the note taker has to analyse and make decisions about what to include. That leads to stronger memories being formed as you engage more with the topic.
The are, however, ways to help record more in your sermon sketchnotes even with more time consuming aspects such as, leaving space to fill in later (for pictures or bible verses) and adding color and layout features later. Not to mention, if your church records its sermons, you can always relisten to the audio later and add more details.
How can you start sketchnoting
There are plenty of great resources to help you start sketchnoting but here are a few points I’d recommend.
- grab some tools you like (a nice pen and some basic paper.)
- just start, you don’t have to be perfect and you can make mistakes. It will be frustrating but you’ll get better.
- check out Mike Rhode’s website here for resources or get his guide here or the advanced techniques book here
- take my free course on how to start sketchnoting here
From your experience, what’s the best way to take notes during a sermon?
Paul Steinbrueck says
Cool idea! Thanks for sharing it Chris. I’m on board with only writing down the main points that are relevant to you, but I’m a little skeptical of using drawings and multiple colors. Seems like doing that would take more time and might cause one to miss the next thing the speaker is saying. Have you found that to be an issue at all?
Chris Wilson says
Hey Paul, thanks for the comment. You are right that timing can be an issue but that is actually part of the benefit. Studies have shown that when you use tools like a laptop to take down notes, you remember less even though you record more. Basically, you aren’t actually processing or reflecting on the information at the time, you’re just trying to get it down.
When you hand write and/or draw, you can’t get everything down and so you have to make a decision about what is the most important information. This process makes you remember more even though you record less.
I do have a couple of tricks to help to save time and not get too far behind. For example, I never write out a bible verse, I just get the reference and then leave a space for later. I often add colour later or during a section when the speaker repeats some information.
Also, I find that good speakers don’t tend to blitz through a series of points, they tend to make a point, expand upon it, perhaps give and example and then move on. In a situation like this, you have a lot of time to get the key point.
It’s also worth considering that many churches record their sermons which provides a way to listen again later if you did miss something important.
Thanks for the comment, I’ll add some of this back into the post. I also understand why you might not want to go “full sketchnotes” but add some elements. like recording notes in a different format and then maybe adding some images or colour after the sermon has finished.