Mind Mapping | How to Do It Effectively?

Are you an academician overloaded with work or a professional stressing over organizing an event? Mind mapping can save you from all the pressure that comes with an upcoming assignment, test, or work-related problem. 

However, creating them requires more than just skills. This includes a sense of clarity, effective mind-mapping techniques, and quality software that offers visual aid, like EdrawMind. It has amazing colors, fun themes, customized clipart, and multiple layout options to help you along the way. 

Don’t know where to begin mind mapping? Start by reading this guide and give EdrawMind a try. 

What is Mind Mapping? 

Mind mapping is all about taking all your thoughts about a concept and displaying them in a layout. Unlike outlines and lists, mind maps have branches and subbranches for the audience to visualize and retain information better. So, whether it is problem-solving, explaining a concept, or showing a hierarchical structure, mind maps have the potential to get your ideas across the board. 

Benefits of a Mind Map

• Offers a broader understanding of a concept
• Helps in reducing mind clutter and irrelevant topics
• Allows you to explore problem-solving techniques
• Manage excessive information in small boxes
• Allows you to visualize and retain data

Create Your Own Mind Maps in 5 Simple Steps

EdrawMind is all you need to create attractive mind maps that will keep your audience hooked throughout the entire presentation. It has amazing colors, layout options, and customizable clipart that enhances the visual appeal of your diagrams. Wondering how to make a mind map in minutes? Follow this step-by-step guide. 

1. Enter the Central Idea

Click the New Mind Map button from the main menu and start your mind map by entering the central idea. This will be the first thing the audience will notice about your diagram, so make sure to give it extra effort. You can highlight it or use a separate font for this idea. 

2. Add Topics and Sub-Topics

The next step is to expand your mind map. Use the top-center toolkit to add topics and subtopics to your diagram. This is the step for you to get creative, so don’t restrict your thoughts and let them flow. Yet, keep in mind to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information. Moreover, align these boxes in such a way that the flow looks natural for anyone who sees it for the first time.  

3. Use Colors to Differentiate Between Categories

Now that you have categorized each box, using fun colors will bring life to your mind map. Add as many vibrant colors as possible to differentiate between each category. Doing this will improve the clarity of connections within the mind map. 

4. Add Clipart to Your Mind Map

The best part about using EdrawMind is its built-in Clipart feature. It is located on the right-side information panel of the editing panel and has all the fun imagery and symbols for things like food, animals, streets, cities, and much more. All you need to do is drag one that matches elements in your mind map and drop them on the canvas. 

5. Time for Finishing Touches

Finally, it is time for some final touches regarding the alignment and structure of the map. Most people overlook the finishing touch, but doing so can bring a massive difference in how your mind map turns out to be. So, how can you do it? Use the right-side information panel for correct alignment and layout. You can also change the theme of your diagram from this section. 

Congratulations, your mind map is all set to go in front of an audience. 

How to Make it Attractive

The sole purpose of mind mapping is to organize and visualize information for a better understanding of a concept. But, it is much more than adding data and organizing it in a layout. Here are some tips to help you create mind maps that can keep your audience hooked for the longest time. 

1. Keep it Simple

The first thing that matters when it comes to creating mind maps is its structure. The first rule to mind mapping is choosing a basic layout for your diagram so that it is easy for the audience to understand. It is equally important for the creator to align all the elements correctly. Here are some basic mind map structures you can choose from

• Balanced maps are the most popular and traditional branch-like maps. They offer a better understanding of a topic and have high scope for visualization. 
• Logic charts have a vertical format. 
• Org charts have a hierarchy structure. They usually explain phenomena. 
• Tree charts work best to explore problem-solving techniques. 

2. Add Keywords

There is nothing better than adding small phrases and keywords to your mind maps. It helps improve the viewer’s clarity about the subject as well as its readability. You can also get more space to include extra topics with this trick. 

3. Use Colors and Symbols

Using colors and a variety of shapes makes your mind map stand out. This is why you need software like EdrawMind that has a decent range of visual patterns and a vibrant color pallet. Not only this, but you can also use these colors and symbols in different ways, like to differentiate between categories or maintain coherence between topics, improve the visuals, and much more. 

4. Use Images and Icons

There is a bulk of studies to suggest that visuals have a direct relationship with how your mind processes details and information. A study conducted at Duke University Medical Center proposed that images can improve memory retention, cognitive abilities of the human mind, and focus. And mind maps are no exception. So, never forget to add some relevant clipart to your diagram. 

5. Stay Flexible

Flexibility is yet another thing that can stand your mind map among others. It means that you have to keep your mind broad while creating such a diagram to get maximum utilization of information. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that having diverse and relevant topics, subtopics, and detailed sub-subtopics can definitely add to its value. 

Conclusion

Mind mapping is an all-in-one solution to all your assignment pressure, work stress, and upcoming presentations. Given that it allows you to get the idea across the board and doesn’t take any time to create, mind maps definitely have the edge over lists and outlines. Planning to give it a try? Use EdrawMind but try keep your map concise and flexible.