Designed And Delivered By: Jano El Kady

Welcome! Why Are You Here Today?

Course Objectives By the end of the day participants should be able to: Organize their thoughts better Plan better Increase their memory ability Be creative Solve problems more effectively Take & make more effective notes Brainstorm Identify & nail issues

Course Overview Tony Buzan - the inventor of Mind Maps The power of the human brain The Brain: Linear Or Non-Linear? What is Mind Mapping? The laws of Mind Mapping How to Mind Map Benefits And Uses Of Mind Maps Mind Mapping practise session

The Inventor Of Mind Maps Tony Buzan The originator of Mind Maps as well as new developments in the theory. Born in London in 1942 and emigrated to Vancouver in Graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1964, Achieved Double Honors in Psychology, English, Mathematics and General Sciences. Returned to England in 1966 and published 10 books.

Tony Buzan Organizations to which he is consultant and use his techniques include: Oxford University, IBM, Cambridge & Stanford Universities, Barclays, Shell Oil, DuPont, Xerox, British Petroleum, General Motors, AT&T, General Electric and Bell Telephone. Fellow of the Institute of Training and Development; member of the International Council of Psychologists, among others. Sports psychologist to Great Britain's Olympic rowing team. His hobbies include athletics, swimming, astronomy and charity lecturing for the World Wildlife Fund.

The brain is a keyboard on which hundreds of millions of different melodies - acts of behaviour or intelligence - can be played.‘ Tony Buzan

The Power Of The Human Brain The potential patterns our brains can make is greater than we think. We have two upper brains that operate in different mental areas. The left side deals with logic, language, reasoning, number, and analysis.

The Power Of The Human Brain While the left side of the brain is engaged in these activities, the right side is in the resting state. The right side of the brain deals with rhythm, music, images and imagination, colour, parallel processing, daydreaming, face recognition, and pattern or map recognition.

The Power Of The Human Brain The reason why our performances do not match even our minimum potentials is that we are given no information about WHAT we can do, or HOW we can best utilize our inherent capacities.

Why Is This Amazing Organ So Under-used? In school were you taught anything about your brain and how understanding its functions could help you learn, memorise, think, etc? Were you taught anything about how your memory functions? Were you taught anything about special and advanced memory techniques? Anything about how your eye functions when you are learning, and about how you can use this knowledge to your advantage?

Anything about the ranges of study techniques and how they can be applied to different disciplines? Anything about the nature of concentration and how to maintain it when necessary? Anything about motivation, how it effects your abilities, and how you can use it to your advantage? Anything about thinking? Anything about creativity? Why Is This Amazing Organ So Under-used?

The Brain: Linear Or Non-Linear? Exercise 1 On a blank sheet of paper, prepare a half- hour speech on the topic of Space Travel. You have only five minutes for the task, whether or not you have finished. Note the problems experienced in performing the task in your notebook. This exercise will be referred to later in the course.

The Brain: Linear Or Non-Linear? It has been thought that man's mind worked in a linear or list-like manner. This belief was held because of the reliance on two main methods of communication; speech and print. Speech was seen as a linear or line-like process because we are restricted to speaking and hearing one word at a time.

The Brain: Linear Or Non-Linear? Print was seen as even more linear because: The individual had to take in units of print in consecutive order. Print was laid out on the page in a series of lines or rows.

The Brain: Linear Or Non-Linear? While speaking, a complex process of sorting and selecting takes place in our minds. The listener receives each word in its context of words, interpreting, analysing, decoding and criticising it. Print is no different. The linear presentation of print is not necessary for understanding. The mind is capable of taking in information which is non-linear such as photographs, illustration, diagrams, etc.

Conclusion If the brain is to relate to information most efficiently the information must be structured in such a way as to 'slot in' as easily as possible. Since the brain works with key concepts in an interlinked and integrated manner, our word relations should be also structured in this way. Rather than working top-down in lists, we should start from the main idea and branch out as dictated by the the central theme. This approach is known as “Mind Mapping”.

What is Mind Mapping? A powerful technique which provides a key to unlock the potential of the brain, using right brain and left brain functions. It makes new connections between ideas by harnessing the full range of word, image, number, logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness. It gives the freedom to capture the infinite creativity of the brain. It can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance productivity.

Examples Of Mind Maps

The Laws Of Mind Mapping

How To Mind Map

Rule One: A Mind Map commences in the center of a page within a multi-colored image or symbol. Reasons: This reflects the many-hooked nature of the brain's thinking processes, and allows more space and freedom for developing ideas from the central core. Use image and color to foster a whole brain approach and enhance both memory and creativity. Rule Two: Main themes are attached to the central image on six thick lines using large capital letters. Reasons : The brain works by association, and if the lines are attached the ideas will internally be similarly "attached." The lines are thicker and the printing larger to reflect the importance of these ideas. Rule Three: Lines are connected to lines. Reasons : The connected structure of the Mind Map reflects the associative nature of the brain. Rule Four: Words are printed. Reasons : The immediate "photographic feedback" and comparative clarity of the printed word give enormous advantage. Rule Five: Words are printed on lines. Reasons : To give them connection and association to the basic structure of the Mind Map.

How To Mind Map Rule Six: Single key words per line. Reasons: Each key word has its own million-range of possibilities for association. Placing the key word alone on a line gives the brain more freedom to branch out from that word. Phrases trap the individual word, and reduce the possibilities for creativity and the clarity of memory. Rule Seven: Use of color throughout the Mind Map. Reasons : Color is a major stimulator of all forms of thought, and enhances creativity and memory. It also appeals to aesthetic sensitivities which increase the brain's pleasure in building the Mind Map, and its interest in returning to, reviewing and using it Rule Eight: Images throughout the Mind Map. Reasons : The use of images raises memory performance to near perfect, icreases creative thinking effectiveness, improves problem solving and communications. Rule Nine: Use of codes and symbols throughout. Reasons : Personalized codes using various shapes such as colors and arrows add a "fourth dimension" to a Mind Map. They greatly enhance the Mind Mapper's ability to analyze, define, structure, organize and reason. Rule Ten: The mind should be left as 'free' as possible. Reasons : Any 'thinking' about where things should go or whether they should be included will simply slow down the process.

Do your space travel speech notes done earlier, but this time using a mind map rather than the more linear methods. Exercise 2

Analysis Of Exercises 1 & 2 Problems often noted in the first exercise include: 1.Order 2.Organisation 3.Logical sequence 4.Time distribution 5.Beginning 6.Emphasis of ideas 7.Ending 8.Mental blocking These problems arise because people try to order speech without considering all the information available. With the map approach, spontaneity of thought is part of the overall process. The list-like method operates against the way the brain works as each time an idea is thought of, it is put on the list and forgotten while a new idea is searched for. With the map approach, each idea is left as an open possibility, so that the map grows increasingly.

Benefits Of Mind Maps

Benefits And Uses Of Mind Maps The centre or main idea is more clearly defined. The relative importance of each idea is clearly indicated. More important ideas will be nearer the centre and less important ideas will be near the edge. The links between the key concepts will be immediately recognisable because of their proximity and connection. As a result, recall and review will be both more effective and more rapid. The nature of the structure allows for the easy addition of new information without messy scratching out or squeezing in, etc.

Uses Of Mind Maps

Even More Uses..

..And The List never Ends!

Transforming A Mind Map Into A Written Or Verbal Form Deciding on the final order of information is easy once the map has been completed. Each area of the map can be numbered in the correct order. Following the logic of the map connections, it can be put into a written or verbal form. The map stage eliminates the problem of redrafting

Practice Session

Questions

Jano El Kady