Month: July 2016

3 Ways Mind Maps Help You Learn

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On July 26, 2016

In Education & Career, Productivity

How to Use Mind Maps? 3 Ways Mind Maps Help You Learn!

Have you ever found yourself struggling to remember something but no matter how hard you try, you cannot remember that specific piece of information? Say, during presentations or exams?!

Must Read: Mind Mapping for Education

Now, reasonably speaking, it has everything to do with the way you learn and/or collect information. Human brain, even though very powerful, can only retain a certain amount of information at a given time. For instance, when you try to cram 100 pages all at once, you end up remembering the information in parts. However, luckily, with the help of mind maps, you can trick your brain into storing larger information and actually remember it when you need.

The reason why using an  online mind map is so effective is because the tricks and techniques involved in the process support and enhance logical as well as creative problem solving.

Mind Maps break information into manageable bits

Breaking large information into smaller, relevant chunks helps you lessen the burden, and thus in turn help you plan and learn things more effectively.

With the help of a good mind mapping software, you can draw each individual point in a way that it is easily recognizable and relatable to the other points. This not only helps you to integrate and retain information with least effort but also allows you to generate new ideas.

Since all the points are inter-related, recalling and reviewing complex information becomes much easier.

Also Read: Critical Thinking and Planning With Free Mind Map Tool

Mind Maps unleash the power of human brain

The concept that whether you are more of right brain person or a left brain person has become quite popular in the recent times. If you put more use to your right brain, you think more logically and if you put more use to your left brain, you think more creatively.

While scientifically speaking, a person always uses his whole brain, what mind mapping does is that it creates synchronization between both sides of your brain without any conscious effort. This helps the mind in building richer connections, which proves to be more effective in easily retaining longer and complex information in the long run.

Mind Maps help keep your thoughts focused and organized 

‘Too much of anything is good for nothing.’ The statement holds true for the conventional methods of learning. However, with the help of mind mapping, you learn to focus on what’s relevant and/or valuable, and void out the rest, which makes the whole learning process easier and less overwhelming.

Also See: Ultimate Guide to using the Mind Mapping Software

Since mind maps are flexible, you break and relate information the way you understand the best: visually, auditorily or kinesthetically. For instance, let’s take the example of mnemonics. You break down the information and relate it to something you are more likely to remember, which can be anything- a song, a phrase or names of fruits.

Apparently, remembering even complex information is easy if you use the right approach. The shortcuts used in mind mapping help you make connections that you can easily remember and think with clarity. So, stop cramming and get started with Mind Vector, the best mind mapping software, and learn your way to the top.

How to Weave Stories With Mind Mapping Software

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On July 18, 2016

In Productivity

How to Weave Stories With Mind Mapping Software

How to Weave Stories With Mind Mapping Software

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”                                                                                                         -Ernest Hemingway

It is not easy for a writer to pen down his concepts in the form of a story at once; he has to rack his brain over and over again so that he can organize the elements accurately. An online mind mapping software can aid him in this task with clarity. What we know about mind mapping tool is that they help in brainstorming and enhancing the ability to recall vital information by establishing relationships between different concepts.

For a writer, who is composing a fiction story or an article, a mind map online can serve as a blueprint before he starts jotting the subplots as a narrative. It shall be his template before he uses his literary skills for adding the finesse in his story. The non-linear structure of a mind map is beneficial for the writer to understand to track his progress with the story.

Must Read: Mind Maps – Writer’s Best Friend

Better structured story elements with mind map:

Start composing with brainstorming software online by listing down the basic ideas about how you wish to proceed with the story. Elements like: the plot, timeline, characters and the background can be laid down in this template over which further work shall be done gradually. At each node of the mind map, these elements can be written so that when the writer has further ideas about any of these, he can just add a sub-node to these elements in order to keep the story formulation organized.

Ease of introducing new ideas:

The individual elements of the story can be expanded on the basis of what the writer wishes to convey. For example, he can elaborate on the characters and the relationships they share with each other, or how they are pivotal for a particular situation presented in the story, the behavior of these characters and much more. Also, the writer gets the opportunity to question his ideas so that he can bring a more realistic touch while narrating. This makes the story much more detailed and precise.

Correlating with the other elements:

Once individual elements in the story have undergone careful detailing, it is essential to build relationships of these elements to each other. A mind map can allow that with absolute accuracy, the writer can explore into regions like where the characters in his story met, gist of the scene before any particular situation took place, the order of the events taking place and others. These types of insights shall bind the story concretely and the mind map shall present them in a creative manner.

Also Read: 4 Steps to Effective Meeting with a Free mind mapping software

Sharing created mind maps with peers:

Nowadays most of the minds mapping tools have the option to share the maps created. A writer has the option to get the feedback from his peers about his story created in the form of mind map.  He shall be able to work on aspects which he missed while jotting them in the map before presenting the final draft of the story. The best mind mapping software online shall give you a cloud storage facility too; this shall enable the writers to store their creations without any risk.

So, what are you waiting for? Bring out the writer in you and get going!

Happy Writing :)

Mind Map for a Quick Brainstorming Session

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On July 10, 2016

In Slideshare

Download Free PDF: Mind Map for a Quick Brainstorming Session

Make a Killer Presentation Using a Concept map

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On July 5, 2016

In Productivity

Make a Killer Presentation Using a Concept map

Make a Killer Presentation Using a Concept map

An image conveys information vividly and effectively. While presenting any idea, the easiest way to do it is to draw it out rather than write pages and pages of text. Diagrams and pictures are attractive and grab the viewers’ attention. For teachers explaining to their students, for salesmen selling to their clients or for employees presenting to their bosses, an illustration goes a long way in getting the point across.

Must Read: Adorn your Thinking Hat with a Concept Mapping Tool

What is a Concept Map?

In this high tech age, where most of the tasks are done on the computer, concepts too can be explained using a Software. You may possibly have gathered a lot of knowledge, but unless you present it in a way that is comprehensible, it is of no use to you or others in the future. That is where a concept mapping tool can be of great value to you. Concept maps are pictorial ways of consolidating and demonstrating information.

The main ideas or concepts can be drawn in boxes or circles and a connection is drawn between them to show how they are connected. The boxes or circles have concept written inside them and the connected lines have added information about the concept.

In general, concept maps are arranged in a pyramid format, i.e the information flow is from top and down. The core idea is placed at the top with peripheral ideas lying in the lower part of the pyramid. While it is a general practice to keep only one main idea but it is not a rule and many concept makers work on multiple ideas at a time.

Using a Free Concept Map Maker

Creating a concept map helps in having a better understanding of the idea. As a result, the concept map keeps evolving. You rename some concepts, change the links or add in some more elements for a better information flow. In fact, you will agree that doing this on paper can be frustrating with endless corrections and strike-throughs. Additionally, colleagues may come in with inputs which will require changes in the concept map and thus your map will go through the endless cycle of iterations.

Also Read: 4 Steps to Effective Meeting with a Free mind mapping software

You will agree that with so much knowledge stored on the computer, it is wiser to use software to consolidate and present that knowledge. Fortunately, there are a couple of online mind map tool that can help you do so. Such tools are easy to use as you just need to plug in concepts and linkages along with their labels. They come with bright, catchy colors, multiple shapes and flexibility to move around elements.

You can concentrate on getting the ideas on screen clearly, and then move on to the aesthetics. You can play with the borders, background, fonts, linkages and even add in an image or two.

Using it for client presentations

It is natural to always put your best foot forward for a client presentation. If you have ever created a presentation, you may have spent hours reviewing each slide of your presentation and ensuring it represents your brand in the best possible way. Using a concept map on one of the slides is a sure-fire way of sustaining your clients’ attention. It is important to keep the concept map uncluttered with emphasis on the main ideas.

If you use the best concept map maker, you will be able to break down difficult concepts into smaller parts and explain them in detail. Moving from one box to another methodically will make your presentation more organized and streamline thoughts for your clients. It also serves as a ready reference for them or you to go back to for clarification.

With an attractive image added, the value of your presentation will go up significantly. Harness all the tools the concept map making software provides to make a presentation which is powerful and memorable. With so much in its favor, why not try it for your next client presentation?

Also See: Ultimate Guide to using the Mind Mapping Software

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