Mind Mapping - a tool for anything

So fresh from an Essentially Speaking weekend, I thought we could take a bit of a look at why Mind Mapping works so well as a tool for content creation.

I’m a big fan.  I do love thinking in a non-linear way.  I use it in so many ways where some clearer thinking can help overcome all sorts of issues or perceived obstacles.

It is certainly invaluable when creating content for a presentation, a book, an article or even a blog.

A couple of questions came up on the weekend about the why’s of certain pointers that Tony Buzan, the creator of Mind Mapping.

A good resource is here…straight from the horse’s mouth.   The why’s of using colour, using curvy lines and thick to thinner lines all comes down to keeping your brain engaged. Using images is a good stimulator as well.  Given Buzan designed this concept in the 60’s it is wonderful to find that he has brought the tool into the 21st Century with a new book – Modern Mind Mapping for Smarter Thinking Amanda Fleming in her book I Can Speak Clearly Now the Pain Has Gone also describes using sticky notes as a ‘data dumping’ tool.  Writing one idea on each note and then they can be moved around later.  She says: “Let the silliest, really really unworthy ideas come forth.  You never know when they will come in handy even as an example of how silly the ideas can be when it comes to unleashing creative energy!  There simply are no rules when it comes to creativity – that’s the whole point so let yourself fly a little when you data dump.”

Practise using Mind Mapping and sticky note data dumping every day on any topic to stimulate your imagination and creativity.

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