Phil Chambers recently shared with me his excellent book, 101 Top Tips for Better Mind Maps. Although it's focused on hand-drawn mind maps, much of its advice is also applicable to software-produced visual maps. Phil, who is a World Champion and International Grandmaster of mind mapping, has obviously put a lot of thought into this booklet, and you would do well to emulate the "best practices" he has assembled here. Several of the ideas that caught my attention include these:
- Use a photo or image as the center of your mind map, rather than a word or phrase.
- If you plan to use your mind map as a memory aid, limit the number of main branches to a maximum of 9. Research has shown that the human mind can simultaneously hold 7-plus-or-minus-2 pieces of information. Any more than this, and you will tend to get overwhelmed with information.
- When brainstorming, add some empty branches to your map if you feel "stuck." The brain will naturally try to fill in these gaps, and you will come up with as many ideas as you have empty branches.
This valuable mind mapping resource can be ordered here for £4.97 (approximately $9.45 USD).
thanks, I think tips and regulations is important for the process of mind mapping, especially for a "newcomer".
Posted by: MindV | November 01, 2006 at 11:58 PM
Hi,
I've taken a course with Phil and recommend him as a mindmapping trainer. I used his training and MindManager to make mindmap notes of my undergraduate law degree (LLB) and my vocational solicitors' training (Legal Practice Course or LPC) in 2003-2006. I would like to share all the maps I and my friends made at our site, www.lawmaps.org. We've got all the core subjects mapped and available in .mmp, .mmap and .pdf format, free for anyone and everyone to use. We hope some people will not only use our maps but edit/update them and share their updates back to our site.
Regards,
David
Posted by: David | November 05, 2006 at 03:58 PM