After writing my post on Spidergrams the other day I decided to have a look around the web for some examples of Bubble Diagrams.
These are another form of visual thought organisation that are often confused with Mind Maps.
After digging around a bit, I discovered a cute little site called bubbl.us.
By their own description the site is “a simple and free web application that allows people to brainstorm online”
However interestingly enough they then go on to describe the output they create as being Mind Maps, specifically:
- “Create colorful mind maps online
- Share and work with friends
- Embed your mind map in your blog or website
- Email and print your mind map
- Save your mind map as an image”
Now this is a typical example of the confusion where a a structure that is similar to Mind Mapping is given that label.
I am never quite sure what my motive is for pointing out the difference between the two forms.
Maybe in the past it was loyalty to the brand but I think now it is more about defending the principles of the technique against pale imitations.
You see in its purest form Mind Mapping is extremely powerful.
The guiding principles I have written about in the past are there for a reason and if all are implemented, you really have a strong and sophisticated thinking device.
When you start taking bits out and create something that sort of looks like Mind Mapping, whatever results is a watered down version of the original.
Now I don’t suppose for a minute that anyone deliberately starts out to do that, I just think that imitators don’t appreciate the true value of the Mind Map and so miss out on the finer detail that makes a difference.
So if we look at the creation of something from Bubbl.us we might get something like this:
On the surface, to the uninitiated at least, these could be described as a Mind Map.
However without boring you on the detail, it isn’t.
Why is that important for me to feel I have to state that?
Well I know Mind Mapping to be a really powerful tool because of the impact it has had on my thinking, and on the thousands of people I have taught it to.
If someone takes what they think is Mind Mapping (but isn’t) and experience the diluted impact it will have they may come to the conclusion that “Mind Maps don’t work”.
Now I think that is a shame, not for me or for the Mind Map but for the person concerned who is missing out on what could, if used properly, give them the boost to their thinking prowess they were looking for.
It would be like going to see a really bad Dire Straits tribute band but thinking they were the real deal.
Now it does not mean that using diagrams like this is not going to help you because this tool is very useful.
As a brainstorming device it does work very wel (try it out for yourself).
However it is not a Mind Map, never has been a Mind Map and it will never be a Mind Map.
Just like there is only one Mark Knopfler, there is really only one Mind Map.
Filed under Mind Map by .
I practice Aikido and have done for nearly 5 years now.
I have always been interested in Martial Arts briefly dabbling with Karate in my teens then taking it a bit more seriously when I was at University.
I also started studying Tai Chi in my thirties and have been regularly practicing the 24 step routine ever since.
In the last few years I found myself being drawn to Aikido after having a long standing appreciation of the art from things I have read about it.
My love of this art has taken me all over the UK, to Austria and to Ukraine and now I am in the throes of preparing for my black belt grading.
One of the things I love to do is teach others what has benefitted me (hence my professional calling since changing careers 10 years ago) and so last year I enrolled on an Aikido Coaching course and am now qualified to teach.
On Friday at my Aikido Club, my sensei was out of town and so asked me to take the class.
This is both an honour and a huge responsibility and one that I cherish.
The secret to running an effective lesson (aside from being able to practice and demonstrate the art) is preparation and so Friday afternoon as I pondered on what to cover, I sat down an drew up a Mind Map of the lesson plan.
It only took me five minutes and very quickly I had identified my theme for the lesson, the different demonstrations and exercises I was going to take the class through within the framework of our style’s teaching format and how I was going to involve the different grades in the same exercises.
Now a big challenge when you put together a lesson plan for Aikido is that you have no idea who is going to turn up and what grades will be there so you have to be ready to be flexible and change things at the last moment.
Of course the beauty of putting together a lesson plan using Mind Mapping is that you have the flexibility to change things very easily.
So the benefits of using Mind Mapping for any sort of lesson plane (regardless of topic) are:
- It is very easy to put together a lesson plan
- It takes a fraction of the time than using "normal" paper and pen
- You create a structure that allows you to be flexible in the case of changing circumstances.
There are other benefits relating to the generation of ideas and the plotting of themes through a lesson structure but for now just understand that it is a quick and flexible process.
Here is the Mind Map I put together for the lesson (which went very well by the way).
Filed under Examples of Mind Mapping, Mind Map, Mind Maps by .
In my recent post called "Tony Buzan Did Not Invent Mind Mapping" I showed you an example of a "radial diagram" from Evelyn Wood and compared it to the Mind Map.
Well it seems a number of questions have come in about how similar that radial diagram was to Spidergrams or Spider Diagrams so I thought I would just offer my thoughts on them too in relation to Mind Mapping.
Here is an example of a Spidergram (or spider diagram depending on how you like to describe them):
Typically a Spidergram has:
- A central image (like a Mind Map)
- A hierarchichal struture (as does Mind Mapping)
- Nodes coming off each hierarchical line (Mind Maps have main branches and sub-branches)
- Have lots of phrases and sentences (Mind Mapping in its purest form will focus on single keywords)
Are Spidergrams useful?
Absolutely!
If you move from the usual structure of hand written notes and start organising your thoughts using spidergrams, then you are going to make a big step forward in improving the quality of your thinking.
The biggest advantage of using this structure is that you have to think about where you are going to position your ideas in relation to the central topic and the other ideas you are considering.
That process alone moves you much further up the thinking food chain.
So why are Spidergrams a bit like Mind Maps?
Well Tony Buzan developed Mind Mapping by modeling the way successful students organised their notes.
On the assumption that a successful student is likely to be good at taking notes, Buzan gathered all of the best practice he could find and combined them into what he later called the Mind Map.
As I mentioned above, the Spidergram approach to organising your ideas makes for better quality thinking AND better quality note taking and it is highly likely that this was one of the features Buzan identified as being crucial to good note taking.
So it is inevitable that a like for like comparison will be made between the structure of a Spidergram and the organising nature of the Mind Map.
However what a Spidergram does not have that Tony Buzan added to the Mind Mapping mix was:
- Colour
- The use of images
- The selection of keywords
- A consistent structure to the hierarchy of the ideas
It is these factors that differentiate the Mind Map from Spidergrams.
So using either tool will improve the quality of your thinking and your thought organisation but if you want to accelerate beyond the benefits offered by Spidergrams, then Mind Mapping is the next logical step.
If you use either Mind Maps or Spidergrams (Spider Diagrams) to great effect, be sure to let me know in the comments below.
Filed under Mind Mapping, Mind Maps, Tony Buzan by .
Let’s just think about Mind Mapping and Creativity for a moment.
Do you have these questions about creativity?
- Is it true that some people are creative whilst others aren’t?
- Can you teach creativity?
- How do you use Mind Maps to solve problems?
Well if you do, then worry not because the answers are available in video form from Phil Chambers the reigning Mind Mapping World Champion and International Grandmaster of Mind Mapping.
Yes there is a World Mind Mapping Championships (don’t ask a) what? or b) why?).
And yes there is such a thing as an International Grandmaster of Mind Mapping (again don’t ask a) who? or b) how?).
Now I know Phil Chambers quite well and forgetting the above titles and accolades that I personally think are a little ludicrous and somewhat irrelevant (despite being awarded the title of “Grandmaster of Memory” myself), he is a nice guy, incredibly bright and undoubtedly someone who you would definitely call an “expert” on Mind Mapping.
More recently he seems to be Tony Buzan’s right hand man when it comes to delivering Mind Mapping training here in the UK and so in theory that endorsement by the main man himself should tell you something about Phil’s knowledge of the subject and his standing within the Buzan community.
So it seems that Phil has been down to the head office of Buzan Online, flirting with the secretaries, letting the girls in the office play with his coloured pens and generally strutting his Mind Map stuff in front of the camera.
He has created a series of 6 short videos on the BuzanOnline Website that answer the creativity questions I posed you at the start of this post.
Mind Mapping Software For Creativity?
Yes there is a bit of a plug for the iMindMap software (which I think is great by the way despite being a hardcore Mind Manager user) but I think it is worth watching these videos to get an insight into how you can develop your creativity.
So if you want to see the quality of one of Tony Buzan’s best instructors at the top of his game, then you need to go and watch these short videos now – it will take you less than 5 minutes.
Let me know what you think.
Filed under Mind Mapping & Creativity, Mind Maps, Tony Buzan by .
I was talking to a potential business partner just recently about the possibility of him promoting the advice that I give on applying Mind Mapping.
This man is a well respected businessman and publisher with a large business in educational publishing.
He was looking at creating a link between his site and my Mind Mapping website and had asked me for a 50 word summary of who I was and what I did in the context of helping people understand how to use the Mind Map.
Here was my reply:
"Michael Tipper is a Mind Mapping specialist who has not only worked with Tony Buzan the originator of the Mind Map, but has also personally taught nearly 100,000 people the technique and has designed student training programs delivered to over half a million young people"
I thought it was well crafted in that it not only demonstrated I was a Mind Mapping specialist but also a prolific and experienced one who has been closely aligned to the source of the technique.
I was amazed at the response I got…..he wanted me to remove the reference to Tony Buzan being the originator of Mind Mapping.
Here is what he said:
"We are not claiming anyone, other than Da Vinci to be the originator, with great purpose – and if you go further, Evelyn Wood taught that technique in 1952 which is now called mind mapping, or rather which evolved to mind mapping. I cannot verify anywhere that any person after 1952 is the developer"
In the correspondence we had on this matter he shared that in the past when referring to Tony Buzan as the originator of Mind Mapping, history professors had challenged him on it by bringing in some Da Vinci drawings.
Apparantly "you can’t argue with history".
Now I thought that was quite interesting so here was my reply:
" I think it really depends on your stance in terms of how you define "Mind Mapping". Sure using a nodal type structure to organise ideas is nothing new (bubble diagrams and brainstorming) and the long known quality of notes with sketches and key words cannot be denied, (the da Vinci note books etc).
However the modification and combination of those processes within the structure that Buzan calls Mind Mapping, refined by the formalised guidelines that take advantage of brain functionality (organisation of association, the power of keywords and the radiant structure) is unique to Buzan and so I would think "originator of Mind Mapping" is a reasonably accurate term.
As far as I am aware, Buzan gives total acknowledgement to Da Vinci and in fact was inspired by the genius in his own exploration of what he has called "Radiant Thinking".
I am not sure about Evelyn Wood though – I think I have seen Buzan reference Evelyn in his speed reading book but not elsewhere in relation to Mind Mapping."
If you have a look at some of the evidence, what you see below is an example of the radial structure recommended by Evelyn Wood together with a sample of just one of Da Vinci’s drawings:
Now let’s compare these two diagrams with a classic example of what a Tony Buzan Mind Map might look like:
Clearly there is a difference between the first two diagrams and the Mind Map below them but likewise there are some similarities.
The Mind Map example draws on the radial structure of the Evelyn Wood example.
However if you look at the strucuture of a brain cell which Buzan claims the Mind Map imitates, there are also striking similarities and the brain cell pre-dates Wood, Buzan and even da Vinci.
In da Vinci’s drawing there is a combination of words and images – he illustrated his notes to make them more memorable and give greater understanding and meaning.
In classic Mind Mapping you also combine words and pictures.
So there are similarities.
But what about the differences?
Well to be honest, the Evelyn Wood diagram is not a brilliant example of its use – it is merely a suggested template – so it would not be fair to make a like for like comparison.
However having seen some completed examples (that I did not have permission to replicate here) the most striking difference is that there are few if any pictures, little or no colour and longer sentences rather than just key words.
I think the Radial diagram is a rather loose framework within which to organise your thoughts and you can be flexible with the use of colour, whether or not you use images and if you choose keywords or sentences.
This is similar with other forms of visual note taking like bubble diagrams, fishbone diagrams etc which have a fairly loose framework to work within.
And here is probably where Buzan has a rightful claim to being the originator of Mind Mapping because what he has done is formalise a process to create a unique diagram called the Mind Map.
Now this is not for some dogmatic reason to lay claim to a trade mark or intellectual property and so differentiate himself from others (such as Wood).
No, the reason for the guiding principles as defined in The Mind Map Book is that to properly integrate your intellectual process with the way you naturally think in order to maximise your abilities, you need to do certain things in certain ways and these are defined by Buzan’s Mind Mapping Rules.
Interestingly enough Buzan calls them "guiding principles" inferring that you do have an option but it is important to understand these are not arbitrary, but developed through years of trial and error with hundreds of thousands of people.
However the further you deviate from these principles, the less effective this powerful technique is going to be.
And all of this is encompassed in the technique called Mind Mapping….the one invented by Tony Buzan.
So I think that Mr Buzan certainly deserves to be credited with ownership of that title.
Now in the grand scheme of things, it does not really matter whether you use Mind Mapping (though it is highly recommended), take a leaf out of the Evelyn Wood book or try and emulate da Vinci himself.
What matters is that you shift from the conventional linear way of taking notes as taught in schools to one more in tune with the way your brain naturally functions and one that will give you much better intellectual and creative reward.
Filed under Examples of Mind Mapping, Mind Map, Mind Mapping, Tony Buzan by .
Where do you start if you want to find out about Mind Mapping and what is created by that process which (I am sure you will not be surprised to hear) is called the Mind Map?
Well doing a search in your favourite search engine on terms like "Mind Mapping" and "Mind Map" will reveal literally millions of options for your to check out.
Now there is a lot of great stuff out there on the internet that will give you probably all you need to know about what Mind Mapping is.
But it could take you days searching for it.
There is also a lot of complete and utter rubbish written about Mind Mapping too and often it is difficult for the beginner to work out what is useful and relevant and what is not.
So a good idea might be to go to the source of the concept and get the information from the horses mouth.
The Mind Map was a term coined (and then trade marked) by British psychologist Tony Buzan.
Now it was originally revealed to the world in his ground breaking book "Use Your Head" in 1974 (In the US this was called "Use Both Sides of Your Brain) and this is the book that first turned me on to Mind Mapping.
Now that book covered a variety of topics and information about the Mind Map was just one part.
So a few years later Tony Buzan wrote what was at that time the definitive guide to Mind Mapping that was simply called "The Mind Map Book".
There have been a number of editions and reprints over the years but as far as I am aware, apart from maybe some additional Mind Mapping Examples, the content has stayed pretty much the same.
So what I would like to do is to share my thoughts on this book and review it for you.
You will see throughout this post different covers for the same book.
With the different reprints and different markets around the world, there have been quite a few different covers and so rather than choose one and risk excluding some readers, I thought I would gather all the ones I could find and place them in chronological order (to the best of my knowledge) throughout the post.
So the Mind Map book is of course about Mind Mapping.
Probably the first thing that jumps out when you look at any of the covers is that the Mind Map book is not written by just Tony Buzan but it was done so with Barry Buzan?
Now that is interesting and I wonder why Tony would include his brother Barry who is a very well respected academic (he is a professor of International Studies).
Barry is a fervent user of his brother’s invention but I really doubt whether he had much to do with its development (though I don’t know that for sure – I have met Barry briefly but it never came up in conversation – he was eating soup at the time and wasn’t impressed I had interrupted him!).
I suspect that Barry’s addition to the credits was an attempt to add some academic credibility and gravitas to a concept that unfortunately (well certainly at that time anyway) has a bit of a "pop psychology" tag.
In fact only yesterday I came across a reference to Tony Buzan being a "Pop Psychologist" made on a web site of a very well respected newspaper in the UK – I am sure Tony will not be over the moon about that.
Regardless of the motive of including his brother, here we have a book written by two very well respected leaders in their own individual fields.
To give you an idea of what the book is about it is probably useful to let you know how it is structured.
It has the following five divisions:
- Division 1 – Natural Architecture
- Division 2 – Foundations
- Division 3 - Structure
- Division 4 – Synthesis
- Division 5 – Uses
In the first division Buzan sets the stage for the relevance of the Mind Map and explains how the brain is structured, and how we think.
He also takes a look at how some of the great minds expressed their thoughts (in particular Da Vinci) and starts to draw parallels to what is later introduced as Mind Mapping.
Apparantly our brains are in a quandry and this is explained by looking at how you and I were taught to organise our thoughts when we were a school.
It is this quandry that is probably the greatest barrier to the proliferation of Mind Mapping as a thinking tool because we consider those skills given to us in our childhood as being "normal" and so anything different to that threatens something that is very much a part of our identity.
Unfortunately as Buzan states, what we consider "normal" is not really natural and in fact holds us back from our natural and much greater thinking abilities.
He ends this first division by explaining the concept of "Radiant Thinking" and laying the groundwork for MInd Mapping.
In the second division, Buzan lays the foundations of MInd Mapping by evolving our understanding of the concept through looking at brainstorming, how our mind organises association, the power of keywords and the impact of images on our note taking and thinking abilities.
In the Structure division which is the third of the five divisions, we are introduced to the guiding principles of Mind Mapping.
Note the use of the term "Guiding Principles".
Over many years of research, study, application and trial and error, Tony Buzan has evolved Mind Mapping to the extent that used in the right way, it is an extremely powerful thinking tool.
Rather than create a set of "rules" he has identified his guiding principles and it is in this section you will discover points such as why using colour is important, why you should only use one word per line and the importance of using images wherever possible.
In my opinion your thinking abilities are significantly enhanced if you start capturing your ideas in a visual form on paper whether you use concept maps, bubble diagrams, fishbone diagrams or any of the other visual note taking strategies.
However what is important about the way Buzan has developed Mind Mapping is that each of the recommendations he makes in his "guiding principles" refines the technique just that little bit more.
So the more of them you apply the more refined the technique and the better it will work for you.
In the Synthesis divsion we are introduced to the different ways we can organise our own ideas and the ideas of others.
In it there are some very useful sections on Mind Mapping and memory and using it as a creative thinking tool.
And finally in the Uses division Buzan shares with us the many different ways that Mind Mapping can be applied in our professional and personal lives.
So overall this is a very comprehensive and thorough text on the topic of Mind Mapping written by its creator.
Here is what I like about the Mind Map Book
There are many things to like about this book but my favourites are:
- It is very well written and appropriately structured
- It is extremely comprehensive on the topic
- There are numerous mind mapping examples in colour from different contributors
- It makes a great case as to why mind mapping is such a powerful alternative to what we consider as "normal"
- Every division and every chapter begins with an overview preview statement and ends with an "onward" statement to prepare the foundations for the next division/chapter
Here is what I don’t like about the Mind Map Book
Whilst I do think that anyone seriously interested in Mind Mapping should have this book on their shelf there are a few things that I personally do not like about the book.
My biggest criticism is that typical of the Buzan approach this book has the tone that Mind Mapping is the only answer to the world’s thinking problems and does nothing to acknowledge that it is part of a bigger picture.
Whilst it is understandable not to refer too much (if at all) to the alternatives this book gives the impression that Mind Mapping should be used for EVERYTHING because it is really the only way.
I can understand this approach as I used to buy into it myself and indeed have promoted that as an idea.
I do think using Tony Buzan’s Mind Map process will significantly enhance your thinking performance, however I am now more aware that for some applications there are better tools and I think this book is let down by not acknolwedging that.
Now that is a personal opinion from someone who has been in this field for over 10 years as a speaker on the topic and 15 years as a user and so might not really be that useful for the casual first time browser of the Mind Map book.
However now that I have got my personal gripes out of the way, the second biggest criticism relevant to you the reader is the irony that such a meaty tome on the topic of Mind Mapping fails miserably to actually teach you how to Mind Map.
It tells you what the Mind Map is, it tells you why it is so powerful, it gives you the "guiding principles" of what you should be doing when you mind map, it explores the uses of mind mapping but as an instruction guide on how to get started, it has very little useful or practical guidance.
As a reference book for someone who teaches it or is a real hard core user and advocate, it is a perfect volume to have on your shelf, but if you want to learn how to begin mind mapping, then in my opinion The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan is not the best place to start.
Should that stop you from buying this book if you are looking to discover how you can get started with Mind Mapping?
No because it really is a good book about Mind Mapping and I do recommend this as something to read on the topic but if you do buy it to learn about how to mind map, just realise you may need to invest in a more practical "How To" guide as well.
Do let me know what you think of this review and if it has been helpful to you then let me know in the comments below.
Michael
PS – By the way if all you are looking for is a basic "How To" guide as an introduction on what you need to do to get started then download the free "How To Get Started With Mind Mapping" guide which is a great place to start.
Filed under Mind Map, Mind Mapping, Mind Maps, Reviews, Tony Buzan by .
Mind Mapping purists will tell you that you can use it for EVERYTHING.
Of course they would say that, they are Mind Mapping purists.
That’s what purists do – try and convince the world that their way is the only way.
Now I used to be a hard line Mind Mapping purist in my youth but as time has gone on I have mellowed somewhat.
I am perhaps more of a moderate these days but still firmly believe that the use of the Mind Map process is pretty much a good choice to make in just about any situation where you need to capture and organise your thoughts on paper.
So what I want to do is share with you my top ten uses for mind mapping.
These are the day to day applications of the mind map that I find myself using the most.
I do use it for a wide variety of tasks and activities but what follows are the list of the most frequently used.
I must also stress that these mind mapping applications are of the hand drawn variety – I will share with you my top 10 mind mapping software applications in a future post.
So in no particular order, here are the ten ways that I use hand drawn mind mapping (by the way I will provide yet another Mind Mapping example at the end of this post to summarise the list.
1. Planning My Week
One of my personal productivity secrets is the process I go through every week to review all of my outstanding and future activities.
Out of that process will come my prioritised list of things that have to be done by the end of the next week.
I capture those on a Mind Map and use it to direct and guage my progress through the next 7 days.
2. Planning my Day
In the same way that I plan my week, I also spend time planning my day using Mind Mapping.
At the end of a day, I will review the progress I have made and then plan how I am going to spend the next day.
I always do it the night before so when I start work the following morning, I know exactly what I need to get going with and so avoid wasting time trying to decide.
3. Creating To Do Lists
This is subtlely different from planning my day in that the to do list might be related to a specific project or it might just be an all encompassing gathering of everything that needs to be done so I can get back on top of things.
The great thing about using mind mapping to do that is the logical groupings of the tasks develop themselves as you start to add them to the appropriate branch.
4. Planning My Projects
Getting things done these days really requires a degree of project management and using Mind Mapping to start gathering my thoughts, thinking about priorities and establishing dependencies and relationships really helps to get a project off to a great start.
Using mind mapping software to do this might be a more efficient process for some (in fact I do use the software to manage my projects), but in the beginning, I like to use hand drawn maps because I personally think better with a pad and coloured pen in my hand.
5. Preparing for Meetings
I wrote about this extensively in my post Mind Mapping Examples for Meetings so I won’t repeat what was written there.
6. Taking Notes in Meetings
Again check out my post Mind Mapping Examples for Meetings for a couple of example mind maps and an explanation of how I take notes in meetings using this tool.
7. Research
We are bombarded with information every second of the day from hundreds if not thousands of different sources and keeping on top of what data we need can be a signficant challenge.
The key to avoiding overwhelm is:
- First of all get very clear on what you are trying to achieve.
- Secondly understand what information you need to achieve that
- Thirdly only give your time and attention to that specific information
- Fourthy capture and process that information in an efficient and memorable format
Of course, Mind Mapping is what I use to do just that and I find I am able to go through vast amounts of information, pick out the key points, capture them on a Mind Map and then have not only a deep and thorough understanding, but also extremely good long term recall.
8. Telephone Calls
In my business I spend quite a lot of time on the telephone speaking to prospective clients and potential business partners.
As with meetings, it is vital that I prepare well for these calls and especially when I am in a sales mode, have a strategy for the call.
Mind Mapping is perfect for doing that but it is also a great way of capturing a record of the call that I can refer to at a later date.
9. Brainstorming
Creativity and the generation of ideas is critical to the success of any business and being able to swiftly come up with potential solutions is a great skill to have.
Fortunately Mind Mapping is a perfect tool to take a situation that requires a solution, brainstorm some initial thoughts and then generate ideas from those initial thoughts.
If you apply it with other creativity tools such as De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, then you really do have a powerful combination for brainstorming.
10. Thinking
And finally the hand drawn mind mapping application that is probably my favourite and the one I use the most is for thinking.
When I am taking stock of a situation or need to consolidate my thoughts on something I will sit down somewhere quiet and will think and capture my thoughts using a mind map.
I might be problem solving, generating ideas, making a decision or analysing a business deal – it doesn’t really matter what it is yet I find that mind mapping is a great process to use when I think.
Some of my best ideas have come out of doing exactly that.
To summarise my top ten here is a mind map I have put together especially for this post:
So there are my top 10 uses of Mind Mapping together with another example mind map that summarises those uses.
I would love to know what your top ten uses of Mind Mapping are so do let me know in the comments below.
Filed under Examples of Mind Mapping, Mind Mapping for Business, Mind Maps by .
