Perfect Your Presentations through Mind Mapping
It is a far too common procedure for lecturers to prepare presentations with a few pages of notes made
up of linear sentences. They stand up behind the podium and start to read, expecting their diligent audience
to take ‘proper notes’. They drone on monotonously at a pace enabling their audience to copy their words.
Drooping shoulders and heavy heads become more and more visible. Is this method actually doing any good?
To summarize, no. Words alone are worthless in helping in understanding and remembering. Not only are
they boring but they do not represent the brain’s naturally fluid nature. Presentations need to impart
information in a form that is easily digested by the brain. The most effective presentation will include
keywords, images, colors, visual rhythms, connections and associations. These are main aspects in triggering
imagination, a key process in learning. But how do you achieve these in a presentation?
Mind Maps are perfect for structuring and organizing:
It is important that you Mind Map the basic facts of your presentation before you even begin to concentrate
on the subject matter. Mind Maps are perfect for structuring and organizing current ideas and plans in a
memorable way for presenting to others. Firstly, you need to know who your audience is and what they stand
to benefit from your presentation. Your Mind Map may include branches such as ‘Case studies’, ‘Analysis’,
‘Inspiration’, ‘Understanding’ etc. With the aid of this Mind Map you will be able to turn the keywords and
ideas into a coherent order ensuring that you use hard data to back up any views or ideas that you may use
in the presentation. Ensure your central image incorporates the subject, while the branches should represent
the subjects for discussion. By using a Mind Map, you will find your role in a wider context will be clearer,
and will find it easier to stick to your subject as your thoughts will be less likely to wander off on a tangent.
Be bold - use images and colors:
In your presentation you should use images, colors and symbols. This is one of the most effective ways of
getting your point across. The visual stimuli will make the presentation more dynamic and interesting. A long
list of boring information can be transformed into colorful, memorable, highly organized diagrams that reflect
your brain’s natural way of thinking and encourage synergetic thinking. Therefore in your Mind Map include a
branch of thoughts and ideas to make you presentation more fun, interactive and memorable for your audience.
Practice makes perfect:
It is important that one of the branches on your Mind Map should focus on the practice you feel is necessary
to ensure that you do not over run your allocated time. You may also use the Mind Map to allocate how much time
you would like to spend on each topic.
How can computer software help you?
Thanks to computers, presentations have become even easier with the aid of state of the art visuals. With Mind
Mapping software available such as Tony Buzan’s iMindMap, computerized Mind Maps can be transferred to PowerPoint.
Do not fall into the trap of believing that using PowerPoint means simply making a linear list of sentences and
phrases – this will fail to keep your audience interested and able to learn. By exporting your Mind Maps into such
programs you maps can come to live and animate your ideas. By clicking a button branches can appear and extend
ask you are discussing each area.
Interaction with your audience is another key aspect to a successful presentation. This can be achieved by
building up the Mind Map as you share your information with your audience and asking them to contribute any ideas
or thoughts to the map.
Alternatively, encourage your participants to take notes in the form of their own individual Mind Maps on your
presentation. This will require the audience to think for themselves and encourage active participation; consequently
the audience is more likely to get the most out of your presentation. Mind Maps allow participants to break the linear
tradition of note taking and helps them to make appropriate associations and absorb more information effectively.
You should now be ready to start planning a great presentation, so good luck.
Boring Meeting/Speech:
iMindMap File
Jpeg Image
PDF Document
Good Speech:
iMindMap File
Jpeg Image
PDF Document
Please Note: All the example Mind Maps were created using Buzan's iMindMap™ - The
offical software from Tony Buzan, inventor of Mind Mapping.
To open and edit these files you will need to have iMindMap™ installed. If you do not
have iMindMap™ you can easily download and try the software for FREE by clicking
HERE.
About iMindMap™
Tony Buzan is the world’s leading expert on the brain and is the inventor of Mind Mapping®, the thinking
technique used by over 250 million people worldwide. Whilst many products have claimed to allow you to Mind Map on a
computer, none have managed to fully duplicate Tony’s world renowned process. Until now that is… iMindMap™ gives you
the infinite visual variety, portability, freedom, brain friendliness and effectiveness of traditional, highly proven
Mind Mapping® techniques. iMindMap™ is the ultimate thinking tool which allows you to work, learn and think smarter
so you can excel in any area of your life.
For more information on mind mapping, free videos, additional articles and to download a free trial of iMindMap™ visit www.iMindMap.com.
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