Hand drawn Mind Maps have a very different feel to those produced digitally. I get a great deal of pleasure out of producing a hand drawn Mind Map.

Effective Relationship Mind Map

I have been asking fellow mappers which pieces of equipment or materials make Mind Mapping by hand such a creative and therapeutic process.

The list so far is as follows:

• Moleskine Notebooks (A5 and A4)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils
• Derwent Coloursoft
• Karisma Berol Pencils Now sadly no longer made
• A3 high quality paper in loose or pad forms
• Derwent electric eraser
• Derwent pencil roll

Let me know if there are any others which should be added to this list.

Question Kit used in study skills workshops

When I am teaching Mind Mapping I often get my delegates to think about their future. If you are thinking about where you want to be in 6, 9, 12 months time then producing a Mind Map might help you get a clear plan of action. You might see connections and links between areas of your life that you have not noticed before.

Planning your future

Relationships always require work! Some people are better than others at developing and maintaining relationships.

I read an article by Kathy Berman which highlighted tips for success. Kathy uses Mind Maps but had not used one in this article so I decided that I would produce a version which might be of use when counseling a client.

If you are interested I can supply a high quality laminated copy of this Mind Map at cost plus postage. Please contact me for more information.

Effective Relationship Mind Map

“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
~Marie Curie (1867–1934)

Is the the aim of all coaching? Or rather should this be the aim of all coaching?

Taken from this source, all rights respectfully acknowledged.

People trained in public education may be unaware of what it is to make a mind map, this is undoubtedly true because teachers are not normally trained in the used of a Mind Map. As a former teacher and senior educator I find this shocking as it is such a useful and effective way of learning, improving recall, planning and researching. We don’t expect people to run on one leg but we train people to teach using only the left half of their brain! and not realize how useful it can be. This sort of thinking is associated with the right side of people’s brains rather than the left. With left-brain thinking, thought processes are more logical and linear. You do what the Red Queen advised Alice in the Wonderland books: “Begin at the beginning. Then proceed until you come to the end. Then stop.” But right-brain thought doesn’t travel in straight lines. It works more on the basis of a picture, a sort of visual map of associated ideas. And in COLOUR.

The use of such mind tools isn’t intended to be exclusionary and shut left-brain thinking right out. Rather, people who talk about these tools hope that the world can learn to add right-brain thinking as a method that works in partnership with the centuries old, tried-and-true methods employed by the left brain. The goal is to discover relationships and possibilities that might never have been recognized in the left-brain way of approaching knowledge. Learning to make a mind map may be a way of expanding that knowledge beyond its previous boundaries. Try a simple experiment: close you eyes and have some say the name of an object to you (eg CAT) what happens in your head? You get an image of a cat not the word printed out, you might get the smell or taste or sensation of a cat but certainly not the word. We recall in images yet we are expected to learn in text. the two go together, thats how we learn to read: Image and Association.

So how does one begin making a mind map? One starts with a central concept or idea, written on a piece of paper, a white or blackboard, or perhaps on a computer screen. Then the brainstorming begins brainstorming is not the same as Mind Mapping and shoud not be confused with it, however it is a very common misconception. One can do this alone, but it’s even more effective with several people. Everyone tosses out any idea they think of that relates to that central concept, and all ideas are written down. Once everyone is done, all the concepts are analyzed and gathered into broad themes that suggest themselves, essentially doing visual mapping to link common ideas together.

By brainstorming like this and using mind mapping techniques, sometimes new connections are discovered that weren’t noticed before. Things might be seen to affect the central issue that no one previously realized had anything to do with it. Left-brain linear thinking concentrates more on the fine details of an issue, while as one works to make a mind map, it becomes a means of seeing the bigger picture, or discovering the constellation of ideas forming the wider environment of the issue. These two ways of approaching a problem don’t need to be in competition, but can work together to form a more comprehensive whole.

This is a good article but it misses huge uses of Mind Mapping: LEARNING, RECALL, RECORDING, PLANNING and MEMORY. Mind Mapping is certainly not brainstorming. It has many other more powerful functions. In education which is where the article started so well MM should be taught so that everyone can use  more of their potential. This article also confuses the concept of brain storming which is usually a group creativity/ideas generating exercise with the process of Mind Mapping which is a tool which can be used for LEARNING, RECALL, RECORDING, PLANNING and MEMORY as well as creativity exercises.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed cure panic attack cures as well as tips on the various anxiety attack medications available at anxietydisordercure.com.

Relaxed holding of an artistic implement

Holding a drawing implement will undoubtedly affect how effective the outcome is. Many people who say ‘I can’t draw’ usually don’t hold the pen or pencil in a relaxed fashion.

Over flexing the first finger is one of the most common problems and can have long term physical issues if it is not addressed properly.

I would be interested in hearing from those of you who have had issues with holding pens and pencils either yourself or with your children.

over-flexing the first finger

For years people have used what have become known as ‘question kits’, some by planning them others just by ‘doing’. When I am running a study skills workshop I will always get the students to consider the questions that they need to ask. Eventually they will arrive at the common:

• When?
• Where?
• Who?
• Why?
• What?
• How?

If you apply this to most questioning situations you will see how the application works effectively.

Question Kit used in study skills workshops

Paul Foreman has used a similar idea which I really like as well…

Solution finder by Paul Foreman

Paul’s solution is a Visual Map of ‘how to find a solution’ using the same questions.

Watch the news and see people being interviewed, the questions are the same. Listen to a Crime drama on the radio and the questions are the same.  We all use these questions when we are trying to find the answers to problem, question, how or when something needs to be done.

iMindMap on the iPhone preview.

Further details available from tim.fulford@btinternet.com

I was privileged to be invited to train as an arbiter to enable me to work with a team of dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who prepared, supported and organised this amazing event.

Follow this link to see the announcement of the winners at the end of the three day event.

Tim

This is an amazing article about a lady with half a brain.