Part I
Mind Mapping: The Swiss Army Knife for the Brain
In this part . . .
A lot of people know about Mind Mapping as a concept but without really understanding what actually lies behind the technique.
In this part I set out the principles and background for your subsequent work with Mind Mapping. You learn how important it is to visualise information rather than just writing it out as text. You discover Mind Mapping rules and gain an insight into the many areas in which it is used. Lastly I explain why Mind Mapping works so well.
Chapter 1
Introducing Mind Mapping
In This Chapter
What characterises a Mind Map How to create your first Mind Map What you can use Mind Maps for Would you like to know how to create a Mind Map? Before we get started, I first want to give you an idea of what a Mind Map actually is and how many different opportunities there are for using Mind Mapping. I can assure you: youâll soon find this technique absolutely indispensable.
Presenting Information Visually
If you flip through the many Mind Maps depicted in this book youâll notice that they look more like pictures than text. Mind Maps are a bit like a tree looked at from above, with its branches radiating out in all directions from the trunk. Youâll also notice that Mind Maps do contain actual words but that these are always reduced to mere keywords.
A Mind Map, for example the Mind Map specimen in this chapter, can contain the same information as the continuous text in the chapter itself. The main difference is that in a Mind Map content is not presented in lines and rows as in continuous text but is actually visualised. In addition to keywords, visualisation involves a sequence of graphic elements such as:
Spatial arrangement of branches The second main difference is that a Mind Map is an individual, personalised map, which reveals the thoughts of its creator. This means that Mind Maps are not automatically self-explanatory, since no two people would create exactly the same thought structure. Nevertheless, Mind Maps can also be understood by other people; for instance, when youâve read the content of the book or already know something about the topic.
You can use the specimen Mind Maps in each chapter in a number of ways, for example, by taking a quick look at them just before reading a chapter without understanding everything in them or after reading a chapter as a quick recap of its content. This is also helpful if you pick up the book again after a break and want to recall the material. Give it a try!
Mind Mapping is a technique that you can learn from, work with and put into practice. Letâs start with an exercise. The exercise gives you your first taste of setting up a Mind Map and introduces you to Mind Mapping procedures.
To master Mind Mapping properly, work through the exercises described in the book. Just reading it through without doing the exercises wonât enable you to apply Mind Mapping successfully. Mind Mapping is a technique and the best way to learn it is by putting it into practice. As you start writing and creating your mind map you activate your âmuscle memoryâ, meaning that you remember the information more than by just reading it. The exercises and instructions in this book help you to do this as effectively as possible. Please have the following to hand:
A sheet of A4 or, even better, A3 paper. A pen with a fine point, for example a biro. And now letâs get started:
Write the word âSuccessâ in the middle of your sheet of paper (see Figure 1-1). Draw a sort of frame or cloud around the word (later on youâll learn about leaving the central word âopenâ, increasing creativity). To the central concept attach six branches that are long enough for a word to be written on them. Remember to keep the branches quite short to start with â you can always make them longer afterwards. Mind Mapping doesnât prescribe how many main branches a theme should have. That depen... 
