Should I take notes or listen? The eternal dilemma when being taught

When you are taught something new by someone, what do you do?

Do you frantically take notes with a pen in your hand, or do you focus on looking at the other person and listening to what they have to say? I have been thinking about this ever since I started working, but it is a problem where, surprisingly, there is no 'absolute correct answer'.

Caught between 'take notes' and 'listen first'

Naturally, it is best to listen once, understand everything, and be able to put it into practice perfectly. However, in reality, people who can do such genius things are rare. Many people have likely had the experience of asking the same thing a second or third time while working, only to be met with exasperation: 'I already explained that, didn't I?' or 'You should have taken proper notes on what I said.' As someone who has stood on the teaching side, I understand that feeling all too well.

So, if you get fired up and decide to write down everything you are told, moving your pen frantically while the other person is talking, you might then be reprimanded with, 'For now, just listen without taking notes.'

From the teacher's perspective, it might look like you are so desperate to take notes that you are missing the essential big picture, or they might get frustrated because the rhythm of their explanation is thrown off when you write down trivial things that 'aren't important enough to note.' You end up getting lost, wondering, 'Should I take notes or should I listen?'

The 'individual game' of student days vs. the 'team play' of working life

When I think about it, I didn't really feel this kind of conflict during my student days. It is a problem that you face overwhelmingly more often after joining a company. Studying as a student is ultimately about 'individual grades,' but work at a company is an activity as an organization. Since the teaching side also has the goal of wanting you to learn the job quickly and become a force for the team, I think communication that makes 'team play' possible is required.

As for me, during my student days, I was the type to keep note-taking to a minimum and just 'listen and remember' during class. At the time, I think I had the memory and the ability to grasp things quickly to do just that.

Fading memory and the wall of 'assumptions' that hinders understanding

But it's not like that anymore. Sadly, my memory is definitely declining, and what is even more troublesome is that 'assumptions' get in the way of understanding new things.

For example, if I were to travel back in time to an era before smartphones existed and was suddenly shown an iPhone and told, 'This is a new telephone,' I would surely be in total confusion, asking, 'Huh? Where is the receiver?' or 'There are no dial buttons, so how do I make a call?' I feel it would take an incredible amount of time to understand the concept that the physical form of a receiver is gone and integrated into the main body, or that the function of a 'telephone' is managed by apps in the first place. Because I have accumulated experience, I have formed fixed ideas about 'what a telephone is,' making it difficult to absorb new knowledge with a blank slate.

For the current me, who has lost confidence in my memory and is even wearing a filter of assumptions, learning something new is a task that requires more energy than I imagined.

What to do in the end? The 'discernment' required of the learner

In the end, the answer to the dilemma of whether to take notes or listen might just come down to 'respecting the person teaching you and discerning their type.'

Is this person the type who 'wants you to listen seriously while taking notes,' or are they the type who 'wants you to look them in the eye and understand the overall flow first'? The learner needs to tune their 'way of being taught' while observing the balance and the other person's personality, rather than just waiting for knowledge passively and aimlessly.

I feel once again that the act of 'being taught' is also an important team play of getting in sync with the other person.