Mind Mapping: Learn How to Mind Map
The power of Mind Maps®
Mind Mapping is an extremely powerful tool, whether you are Creating, Learning, Organising or Communicating -- C.L.O.C as I like to say.
Have a look at my view on a mind map describing the mind map laws:
Paper or Software?
The simple answer to this is that both have their place. For me it depends on the task, if I want to capture information rapidly I much prefer just getting out an A4 pad and pen, likewise if I’m in a creative session. When I’m learning information I like using a combination, initially mind mapping software to create a structure which I can move around and then on paper so I can really connect with the information.
Where Mind Mapping software really comes into play, is communicating and aggregating information. Using Mind Maps in presentations is such a powerful tool as it really engages the audience and with online Mind Mapping getting better and better the ability to create visual interfaces for information can play a major part in structuring information, especially when it comes to business.
Which software
The software which is closest to the Mind Map Laws is iMindMap, although at the moment they don’t have an online version, so I currently use iMindMap for presentations, handouts and learning information (the Mind Map Laws map above was created with iMindMap):
You can get a free trial of iMindMap here.
For online Mind Mapping I currently use Mindomo, I have to say there home page doesn’t do them justice, their software is very versatile and you can create some great looking Mind Maps which (and this is the best bit), embed as flash on any webpage. You can also do the obvious things like add links/files/images etc. So if you have a lot of information in wikis or documents floating around your business it’s pretty easy to set up some maps which can aggregate all of that information. With Mindomo you can also collaborate with other users so lots of users can edit and update the same map.
You can register for a Mindomo account here
Tony Buzan, creator of Mind Maps®
I was first introduced to Mind Mapping when I met Tony back in 1995 during the World Memory Championships. It didn’t take long to see the potential in this technique, not just from a memory point of view but for unleashing your creativty, solving problems and generally creating artistic structure from anarchy. Before I focus in on Mind Mapping let’s here from the man himself:
Putting Mind Maps into Practice
As I mentioned, in my opinion there are 4 very primary applications for Mind Maps which encompass a lot of different situations. I’ll run you through which each one of those are and give you some practical examples.
