the branches of trees, are far more attractive and riveting to your eye.6 Use ONE KEY WORD PER LINE. Why?Because single key words give your Mind Map more power and flexibility. Each single word or image is like a multiplier, generating its own special array of associations and connections. When you use single key words, each one is freer and therefore better able to spark off new ideas and new thoughts. Phrases or sentences tend to dampen this triggering effect. A Mind Map with more key words in it is like a hand with all the finger joints working. A Mind Map with phrases or sentences is like a hand with all your fingers held in rigid splints!
7 Use IMAGES throughout. Why?Because each image, like the central image, is also worth a thousand words. So if you have only 10 images in your Mind Map, it’s already the equal of 10,000 words of notes!
Creating Your First Mind Map
Let’s return to the topic of ‘Fruit’ and use your powers of imagination and association to make a Mind Map. There is a sample Mind Map on Plate 1, but try to complete the Mind Map yourself before you look at it.
Level One
First take a sheet of plain paper and some coloured pens. Turn the piece of paper on its side, so that it is wider than it is long (landscape rather than portrait). In the centre of the page draw an image that sums up ‘Fruit’ for you. Use the coloured pens and be as creative as you like. Now label this image ‘Fruit’.
Level Two
Then, draw some thick branches radiating out from the central ‘Fruit’ image. Use a different colour for each. These branches will represent your main thoughts on ‘Fruit’. You can add any number of branches when you make a Mind Map, but, for the purposes of this exercise, let’s limit the number of branches to five.
Basic form to copy for your first Mind Map (Level 2)
On each branch, print clearly and in large capital letters the first five single key words that pop into your head when you think of the concept ‘Fruit’. As you can see, at the moment, your Mind Map is primarily composed of lines and words. So how can we improve it?
We can make it better by adding to it the important brain ingredients of pictures and images from your IMAGINATION. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ and therefore saves you a lot of time and wasted energy writing down those thousand words in your notes! And it is easier to remember.
For each of your key words, draw in a picture next to it to represent and reinforce it. Use your coloured pens and a little imagination. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece – a Mind Map is not a test of your artistic ability!
Level Three
Now let’s use ASSOCIATION to expand this Mind Map on to its next stage. Returning to your Mind Map, take a look at the five key words you have written down on each of the main branches. Do these key words spark off further ideas? For example, if, say, you had written the word ‘Orange’ you might think of colour, juice, Florida, Vitamin C, and so on.
Draw further branches coming off each of your key words to accommodate the associations you make. Again, the number of sub-branches you have is totally dependent on the number of ideas you come up with – which may be infinite. However, for this exercise, draw in three sub-branches.
Basic form for you to copy for your first Mind Map (Level 3)
On these sub-branches do exactly the same as you did in the first stage of this game: print, clearly, single key words on these waiting-to-be-filled branches. Use the main word on the branch to trigger your three new key words. Again, remember to use colour and images on these sub-branches.
Congratulations! You have just completed your first basic Mind Map. You will notice that even at this early stage your Mind Map is brimming with symbols, codes, lines, words, colours, and images, and is already demonstrating all the basic guidelines you need in order to apply your brain most effectively and enjoyably. For a completed ‘master example’ of this exercise, see Plate 1.
You are now more than ready to explore the exciting world of Mind Map applications and how they can add quality, effectiveness, and success to your personal, family, professional, and daily life.
1.3 Your Daily Life Made More Successful with Mind Maps
Communication and Presentations Mind Map
Planning Family Events Mind Map
Persuading People and Negotiating with Mind Maps
Romantic Weekend Mind Map
Telephone Calls Mind Map
Starting a New Venture Mind Map
Shopping Mind Map
Reduce a Book to a Single Page Mind Map
Now you have mastered the basics, it is time to introduce you to a range of the most popular and successful applications for Mind Maps in your daily life.
You now know that Mind Maps have many advantages, including saving time, organizing and clarifying your thinking, generating new ideas, keeping track of things, dramatically improving memory and concentration, stimulating more of your brain, allowing you to keep your eye on the ‘whole picture’, and, very importantly, being fun to do!
In this chapter I am going to put all these advantages to work for you.
You will learn how to apply this master thinking technique to a whole range of the most important Life Skills including planning, shopping, studying, note-taking, coming to new realizations and awareness, and making presentations. You will then be able to Mind Map your way through any problem (Plate 2).
Communication and Presentations Mind Map
Being asked to make a speech or presentation is ranked as the number one fear on the planet – higher than the fear of snakes, spiders, rodents, war, disease, violence, and even death!
Why?
Because when making a speech or presentation we are both physically and mentally utterly exposed. There is no escaping the inevitable mistakes in front of the audience.
Thus the dread.
To deal with this dread, most people spend hours and days preparing written presentations that waste precious time and which often have the opposite effect to that desired.
Because they are written in sentence form, and because we do not speak in this form, they become monotonous and boring. In addition, because you have to keep on looking down at the words, you lose contact with the audience. In further addition, because you have to keep looking back up at the audience you increase the probability that you will lose your place. On top of all this, because
