Sunday, April 26, 2009

MInd mapping

I can't focus on my presentation that's due in one month. What can I do to get it done? What would be a good strategy for helping me to unblock my brain and start the creative process? I want to suggest one approach that might work. 

First, how do I come up with this presentation? I am sitting in front of my computer trying to create an outline based on the steps that have to be taken to research, write, practice and deliver my presentation to an audience. There are many different ways to setup an outline. Which method would work best for the way your brain works? Do you see a bunch of ideas popping up all over the place? Then mind mapping might be a method that can work for you. A mind map is a diagram representing ideas, words, pictures and other images linked to a primary idea or significant word. The parts of the mind map are arranged based on the way you think as you are creating it. You can designate different areas of the mind map according to the importance or priority of the information presented.

Mind maps are used by those that present their ideas in a non-linear way. It is a form of visually brainstorming on paper to help organize and plan a task. Mind mapping is a great way to take notes and support creative problem solving too. Here are a few sites to check out that offer mind mapping/visual information management. http://www.thebrain.com offers a free download to try that supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux/Unix.  

The other software to check out is http://www.imindmap.comYou can download a free trial and the software also supports Mac
 OS X, Windows and Linux/Unix.

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