Mind Maps for Business
by Tony Buzan with Chris Griffiths. isbn: 978 1 4066 4290 2
Approximately 20 years ago I was at a conference and one of the speaker said, “In this session you are not to write one word of what I say but you can draw any image that links what I am saying to what you are interpreting.” Now as a very studious student I was extremely concerned with this idea that ‘not a word could be written down’ but I was even more concerned with the idea that I had to draw ! (Have you seen my drawings? You wouldn’t want me on your Pictionary team!)
Before we started with the content of the session, the speaker introduced the tool of Mind Mapping as a technique for taking picture notes rather than taking word notes.
So why use Mind Mapping? Tony Buzan (the creator of Mind Maps) says “The human brain does not think in toolbars and menu lists; it thinks organically like all natural forms, like the human body’s circulatory and nervous system, or the branches of a tree and veins in a leaf. That’s how the brain thinks. To think well it needs the tool that reflects that natural organic flow. The Mind Map is that tool.”
How do you do a Mind Map? Before starting I suggest getting an A3 piece of paper (you will work your way down to an A4 with practice) and various coloured pens/pencils.
- Turn your (blank) sheet of paper sideways in front of you (landscape-style) so you can start your Mind Map in the centre of the page (giving you plenty of space to work with).
- Now place an image in the centre of a page that represents the idea, concept, thought, theme or subject of whatever issue is your focus.
- From this centre image draw out curved lines. These are your first-level branches. On these branches identify key concepts with images or keywords. The experts recommend a different colour for each branch.
- From these first-level branches draw out another series of lines. These will emulate the second-level branches (sub-concepts to the key-concept).
The end result is a core image connected with curved lines, symbols, words, colour and images that mimic the myriad of synapses and connections of our brain cells, reflecting the way we ourselves are created and connected.
As I often describe myself to people as a linear person who works from top left to bottom right with a pencil in note taking, the workshop request to start with a picture in the middle of a page was a stressful experience for me! This book will assist you with the creating your first mind map, teaching you how to use mind mapping to facilitate communication and negotiations in your business and how to use Mind Maps for better business outcomes.
NB: If you want to check out how a Mind Map is developed by an expert or how it can look, please review:
http://www.edrawsoft.com/MindMap-Examples.php or
http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk/mind-maps-examples.htm
Alternatively, try developing one in PowerPoint or a shareware application at http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download
Have fun.
