A technique which organizes ideas around a central key word or concept, mind maps can be used to generate, visualise and categorise ideas as an aid to thinking, study, problem solving and decision making.
By presenting associations between ideas in a radial, non-linear, graphical form, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to a task. Maps consist of images, words, and lines. The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and are organized into hierarchical branches and groupings.
Fireseed's tips
1. Start in the centre of a blank page turned sideways. (This gives you maximum freedom to spread out in all directions.)
2. Use an image or picture as your central idea. (Pictures often help to stimulate the imagination.)
3. Use colour throughout. (Colours are also stimulating, and add vibrancy and life to your mind map.)
4. Draw main branches out from your central image and select a key word or picture for each to establish a basic structure for your thoughts (like branches radiating from the trunk of a tree).
5. Draw secondary branches out from each key word as you associate further ideas.
To keep things simple, try to reduce each idea to just one word or image sitting on its own line. Make the lines the same length as the word/image.
6. Continue generating, associating and branching out ideas. Add more branches where you need to.
7. Add numbers, letters, etc. to finished branches in order to give a logical sequence to the ideas in your completed map.
Some mind mapping applications:
*Brainstorming ideas
*Note-taking (meetings, lectures and talks, conversations, books, articles, etc.)
*Preparing a presentation or talk (see example above)
*Analyzing and solving problems
*Planning a process or project
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