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Mind Maps can fix your Poor Brainstorming Results

Faizel Mohidin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:27:12 +0000

Why Your Method of Brainstorming Isn’t Getting Results
http://lifehacker.com/5885273/why-your-method-of-brainstorming-isnt-getting-results

Couched in the headline “Brainstorming doesn’t work,” The New Yorker explains that brainstorming where you just throw out ideas and see what sticks has no better track record than sitting down and trying to consciously come up with good solutions. Even in groups, brainstorming won’t work on its own—at least not until you take the next step and critically examine each idea, regardless of who submitted it or how.

I’ve been in many brainstorming sessions that don’t work, just as this article alludes to.

When I lead a brainstorming session, I use Mind Maps, as it enables me to provide guided brainstorming sessions.

Often, brainstorming is just a random set of ideas that get generated by a group. A common method is to use “Post It” notes to write down ideas and then group them together afterwards. This often leads to a number of totally unrelated ideas that are useless in solving the problem(s) at hand.

I more likely want to come up with good solutions to problems in a brainstorming session. I therefore structure the problem in a way that enables good feedback by using Mind Maps.

This keeps the group focused on solutions to the specific problems. Mind Map Software is great, as it allows very easy restructuring of the ideas on the fly. By projecting a large Mind Map onto a screen and facilitating a brainstorming session with good Mind Map Software, I am able to conduct very productive brainstorming sessions and achieve outstanding solutions, as the participants can visually explore their ideas as the session progresses.

While it is not a brainstorm, as it is commonly practiced, it is a storming of brains working towards a solution in a structured, yet exciting, fun and visual way – and that makes all the difference.

Solutions to your learning problems

Faizel Mohidin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:37:41 +0000

The following article made me ask whether we are selling solutions to problems, simply products to make money.

Identify The Problem, Then Solve It
http://harveymackay.com/column/identify-the-problem-then-solve-it/

Let me repeat a basic principle in the sales and marketing world: People don’t usually buy products and services. They buy solutions to problems.

And adhering to that principle determines who succeeds at sales.

Successful salespeople and marketers learn that fundamental lesson early on. They tailor their products and services to meet a demand that is not necessarily immediately evident, but nonetheless very real. They identify problems in terms of solutions.

Reading this article made me realize that we do sell solutions to your problems. We help solve your learning problems by using Mind Maps to make learning faster and easier. (http://www.usingmindmaps.com/learning-management-program.html)

We also provide you with a repeatable process, so that you can remain a lifelong learner and maintain a competitive advantage.

So, if you want to get ahead at school, college, university, work, business, or in your personal life, follow a learning process and use tools (like Mind Maps) to help you learn faster and easier.

Mind Maps, Left Brain, Right Brain and Innovation

Faizel Mohidin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:18:27 +0000

The Right Brain Holds The Key To Your Company’s Innovation
http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/02/right-brain-innovation.html

“Through clustering, the right brain has the opportunity to generate fresh perceptions and meaningful patterns” ~ Dr. Gabrielle Lusser Rico, Author of Writing the Natural Way
What if you could break up traffic with a simple gesture? Your super-power, “able to dissipate afternoon gridlock in a single bound.” How much time would that save you, knowing that you had a technique to keep the highways clear so that you never waste another moment sitting in afternoon or morning traffic?
In terms of brainstorming, idea generation, and breaking mental roadblocks, clustering – or the more common term mind mapping—is that tool (if you trust it and do it right).

This article caught my eye as it illustrates beautifully the role the right brain plays in innovation.

It also goes on to explain why it holds the keys to innovation and why Mind Mapping is the tool to to break down your mental roadblocks, as it stimulates the right brain.

But I would like to argue that Mind Maps have another role to play in innovation, which, surprisingly, involves the left brain.

If you’ve studied the brain, and the works of Tony Buzan, the inventor of Mind Mapping, you will realize that, according to him, the left hemisphere of the brain is largely responsible for structured, organized, logical and analytical thinking.

According to me, Mind Maps naturally involve the whole brain in the thinking process. Most know that the right hemisphere is naturally stimulated by the visual, spatial aspects of a Mind Map. What many don’t realize is that a Mind Map has structure, order and hierarchy, which are largely left brain functions.

A Mind Map structures the thoughts pouring in from the right brain and it breaks the chains that constrain the thoughts of the left brain.

In other words, Mind Maps truly involve the whole brain, making it the ultimate innovation tool.

While there are many outlining and visual thinking tools, I feel that Mind Maps most aptly capture the essence of whole brain thinking and ensures you get the most innovative ideas – structured in the shortest possible time.

So, the next time you have to come up with an innovative idea, use Mind Maps to take your innovation to the next level by involving your whole brain in the process.

For more information on my opinionated ideas on Mind Maps and the brain, have a look at our website. (http://www.usingmindmaps.com)

The Benefits of Sharing

Faizel Mohidin — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:35:51 +0000

Seth’s Blog: The sad irony of selfishness

More often than not, the selfish person is insecure, fearful and filled with doubt. The selfishness springs from his belief that this is his only good idea, his last dollar, his one and only chance to avoid failure. “I need this, not you,” he says, because he truly believes he’s got nothing else going on, no other chance, no hope.

I am often asked why I spend so many hours blogging and writing articles on our Using Mind Maps website. There are over 100 free articles on using Mind Maps based on my own views and hundreds of blog posts on MindMapTutor.com. Not to mention the Facebook Page and Twitter updates.

I also offer a free monthly newsletter and a free email course on what a good learning program should look like.

This is in contrast to what many people believe they should do to survive and gain a competitive advantage, but I truly believe that the more you give, the more you shall receive.

I was therefore glad to see this post by Seth Godin, one of the leading marketers in the world. He also supports the idea that what you give will be returned manifold – sometimes in ways that you least expect it.

So, if you feel that you would like to share your ideas or your experiences with Mind Maps, I have created a space for you on our website, where you can share your ideas with the world (at no cost to you) and reap some of the benefits of sharing.

via ScribeFire

February 2012 Using Mind Maps Monthly Newsletter

Faizel Mohidin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:47:21 +0000

Using Mind Maps Newsletter

Up to date information, useful tips, valuable content and unbelievable free offers!
To help you get into Using Mind Maps in your daily life, we have put together a monthly newsletter.

Our February 2012 ‘Using Mind Maps Newsletter’ has been delivered to all subscribers. We have a brand new product, Hamlet Mind Map Tutor, which makes learning Shakespeare’s longest, most complex and most popular play, simpler and easier to learn.

We focus this month on Using Mind Maps to create work that matters.

So subscribe today to stay up to date with using Mind Maps to be more successful, and also get access to our free Mind Map Tutor Handbook and 7 part Email course on putting together a good study framework.

via ScribeFire

Mind Map Software can make you more productive

Faizel Mohidin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:09:26 +0000

Skilled users of mind mapping software are significantly more productive, research shows
http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/productivity-research-mind-mapping-software/

Investing time in improving your skill with mind mapping software can have a strong payoff in improved productivity, according to a deeper analysis of my survey research.
Last year, I conducted a survey that showed that mind mapping software is the ideal productivity tool for today’s busy executives. After writing about Biggerplate.com’s new training program on the blog this morning, I got to wondering about the connection between mind mapping skill level and the benefits enjoyed from it. Intuitively, it seems there should be a direct correlation between the two. After all, the more skilled you are with a software program, you can work faster and more efficiently, and apply it to a greater number of tasks. Wouldn’t it be great if I had some real-world data to back up that assertion, I wondered? Then I suddenly realized that I may have this data, embedded in last year’s survey results.

Chuck Frey runs arguably the best blog on Mind Mapping Software.

This is a great article of his on the proclivity gains of Mind Mappers – with the evidence to back it up!

So, if you are not yet using Mind Map Software, now is the time to get started.

English Grammar Mind Map Tutor

Faizel Mohidin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:35:59 +0000

English Grammar Mind Map Tutor
http://www.usingmindmaps.com/english-grammar-mind-map-tutor.html

Improve your English quickly and easily…
Here’s the easy way to improve your English in a way that works with your brain’s natural learning mechanisms so that you learn in a way that is interactive, colourful and fun.
Would you like to improve your English Grammar, but the thought of working through another English Handbook makes you shudder?
Are you learning English at University, College, or School?
Do you wish you could use English better in the workplace, or in your business?
Are you learning English as an additional language?
Would you like to improve your knowledge of English Grammar in an easy, fun way?

At school, I always found it difficult to learn and remember the English Grammar rules, even though English is my mother tongue. I live in a country where English is often a second or third language, and I see how people make simple grammar mistakes on a daily basis.

This was part of the inspiration that initiated the development of an English Grammar Mind Map Tutor.

Mind Maps enabled me to create a Visual Learning Tool that enables you to quickly reference the core English Grammar principles, with examples. It also puts you, the learner, at the centre of the learning process, as you can interact with the material and add own own notes and examples where you see fit.

As simple as it looks now, it was also one of the most complex and difficult Mind Maps that I have ever created, as grammar sources are not often structured very well. I also tried to relate the various Grammar aspects in a way that makes sense so that hierarchy and association, two key aspects of memory, are included in the structure of the Mind Maps.

The result is an interactive tool that makes the mastering of English Grammar simpler, easier and faster.

You may prefer your normal, linear method of learning and improving your Grammar, but if you think that a Mind Map Visual Guide can help you, then you owe it to yourself to get our English Grammar Mind Map Tutor today!

Mind Maps, Aging Brains and Wisdom

Faizel Mohidin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:28:42 +0000

Myths of Aging Brains and Wisdom
http://www.brainleadersandlearners.com/aging-brain/myths-of-aging-brains-and-wisdom/

It was once held that adult brains cannot grow new cells or regenerate old ones. Recent research on aging though, is trumping commonly held myths about age as a free ticket to wisdom. It turns out that choices made daily overtly impact your brain’s ability to act wisely or not, on the following day.

Tony Buzan, in his book ‘The Age Heresy’, says that the brain can get better as you get older. This article provides new evidence to show that this is true. But, it depends on how you use your brain on a daily basis.

By using Mind Maps regularly, your brain is forming new neural networks and thus developing more and more pathways to remember things, thus growing and becoming better.

Depending on how you behave on a daily basis, your brain can improve as you get older.

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A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Faizel Mohidin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:17:42 +0000

Mind Maps – “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” | ExamTime
http://examtime.com/exam-tips/mind-maps-a-mind-is-a-terrible-thing-to-waste/

A Mind Map is basically another way of displaying information to help you remember the important points of a subject or module. Exams are one of the biggest pressures students face and anything that can help you in your quest for the best results can only be a positive thing.

As the academic year may start at various different times for all over you over the coming weeks, perhaps this would be a good time to evaluate how successful your revision methods have been in 2011.

This article caught my eye, as many learners don’t believe Mind Maps can be used for higher education.

Mind Maps can be used at the highest levels. So start with your summaries and progressively increase the amount of detail on your Mind Maps.

You can also continuously work on your learning process. Like any professional athlete, you need to work on, and tweak, your skills all the time so that your mind can continue to expand your mind.

You can learn faster and easier by maximizing the power of your mind with Mind Maps and improving your learning process.

http://www.usingmindmaps.com/learning-management-program.html

Interesting case study on using Mind Maps

Faizel Mohidin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:42:46 +0000

Initiating Inquiry: Mindmapping and Fishbowl Discussions for Connecting and Building Background Knowledge
http://alalearning.org/2012/01/23/initiating-inquiry-mindmapping-and-fishbowl-discussions-for-connecting-and-building-background-knowledge/

Susan Lester’s 10th Honors World Literature/Composition students recently began a novel study of All Quiet on the Western Front. Since students knew little about World War I, we gave students the opportunity to choose a World War I topic of interest to them ( a menu was provided but students could come up with their own topics, too) to research. Susan and I decided to help students dwell in the connecting stage of inquiry by having students mindmap their research and then share those findings in a Fishbowl discussion group. Using mindmaps that Howard Rheingold’s students created and published as our models, we gave students the choice for the tools and mediums they wanted to use to mindmap the key ideas and findings of their research on their topic. Most preferred creating their mindmaps with concrete materials like paper and ink, but others like using Word or Bubbl.us.

I found this case study extremely informative on using Mind Maps to learn. Pay particular attention to the discussion groups, the reasons why the Mind Maps did not work so wel,l and the actions taken to rectify the situation.