As a follow-up to my previous post on mind mapping, I am going to bring to light one of its great applications: writing and delivering a speech. Before going further, I should mention that I have some prior experience in public speaking. In many of our business courses in university, presenting was a normal part of the curriculum. In addition, I spent some time as a member of a local toastmasters club, a great organization for improving one’s public speaking skills. However, I wish I had learned how to use mind mapping a few years back since I feel this simple technique greatly improves every part of a speech from writing / editing to memorization and delivery. It also cuts preparation time by at least 50%. Read more »
Tags: entrepreneurship, Productivity, speech writing, starting a business
Image by gideonking
Ever since I read the book “Use your head” by Tony Buzan a few years back, I have been using mind mapping as a tool quite extensively. For those unfamiliar with the term, a ‘mind map’ is an alternative and superior way of taking notes that makes use of both the left (analytical) and right (creative) sides of the brain. You begin with a key concept in the middle of the page with secondary keywords ‘branching out’ radially around the key concept.
Research shows that the human brain works in very a non-linear way with associations and connections being key parts 0f the whole process. A mind map is more conducive to this than traditional linear note taking. A few advantages include: a clearly defined central idea, relative importance of ideas, links between ideas, and faster recall and review periods.
As mentioned in the book, here are a few guidelines for creating a great mind map: Read more »
The concept of a ‘paperless’ life is something that I’m finding more and more appealing. Lets face it. We’re inundated with paperwork every day: letters, bills, pay stubs, receipts, warranties, instructions on how to use your printer, etc. We can sort all this information and file them separately using a file folder. However, the process of going through each folder looking for instance, an old pay stub can be very frustrating and time consuming. Read more »