Mind maps
Name - Vinay Kumar Srivastava
Experience - Procurement professional of more than 20 years with experience spread across multiple industry verticals like consumer retail logistics, pharmaceuticals, textiles. Professional with proven track record in source to pay cycle of both Capex and Opex Procurement. Hardcore negotiator with strong focus on capability development. , succession planning and career patching of the team. In short, end to end solution provider starting from real estate to buying infrastructure to administration and maintenance blah blah blah…..
Impressive, Isn’t it?
Even I thought that these 4 pages were not sufficient to cover all the achievements of my career and felt proud each time I read it.
Believe me my dear Toastmasters, when I say that THIS impressive resume could not fetch me even a single suitable response.
Good evening dear Toastmasters and guests, Then, one of my very close friend happened to see my CV and the first thing that he said was “Vinay, who has the time for this long story? Your presentation should be precise and short for effective communication. What he suggested has helped me immensely and immediately invoked a positive response so that I moved from my last job to Blue dart in no time.
(Slide no.1 VS Mind Map)
As you see here, it covers all the points that are covered in a CV but it is represented in a single page.
In the journey of Toastmasters, one of the most difficult aspects in communication track is to write a good script. Each one of us must have struggled at one point or another with the lack of ideas for the next speech. Some of us have a knack of delivery, stage presence but their content lacking. Even the best of writers sometimes find it difficult to pen a script or sometimes the ideas are so vast that to compile them in a 5-7 minute speech seems impossible
The question is how does one develop a speech from a simple idea. We can use the same technique…
Mind mapping…. Let me explain what exactly Mind maps are and how they help us.
Mind mapping is a highly effective way of getting information in and out of our brain. Mind mapping is a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally "maps out" your ideas.
Although the term "mind map" was first popularised by British popular psychology author and television personality Tony Buzan, the use of diagrams that visually "map" information using branching and radial maps traces back centuries. Some of the earliest examples of such graphical records were developed by Porphyry of Tyros, a noted thinker of the 3rd century, as he graphically visualised the concept categories of Aristotle.
Buzan's specific approach, and the introduction of the term "mind map" arose during a 1974 BBC TV series he hosted, called Use Your Head. In this show, and companion book series, Buzan promoted his conception of radial tree, diagramming key words in a colourful, radiant, tree-like structure.
The Five Essential Characteristics of Mind Mapping:
* The main idea, subject or focus is crystallised in a central image
(SLIDE NO.2 )
* The main themes radiate from the central image as 'branches'
(SLIDE NO.3)
* The branches comprise a key image or key word drawn or printed on its associated line
(SLIDE NO.4)
* Topics of lesser importance are represented as 'twigs' of the relevant branch
(SLIDE NO.5)
* The branches form a connected nodal structure
(SLIDE NO.6)
How to Make a Mind Map for a dinner event
(SLIDE NO.7)
* Think of your general main theme and write that down in the centre of the page. i.e. Food
* Figure out sub-themes of your main concept and draw branches to them from the centre, beginning to look like a spider web i.e. Meats, Dairy, Breads
* Make sure to use very short phrases or even single words
* Add images to invoke thought or get the message across better
* Try to think of at least two main points for each sub-theme you created and create branches out to those
Mind maps can be used in all spheres of life to perform various activities and present many things.
(Slide no. 8)
If I use mind maps to do my SWOT analysis, this is how I will be able to do it.
(SLIDE NO. 9)
Free Mind map software E Draw is available on the net to facilitate the making of mind maps. There are various apps available on Android and IOS to help you make mind maps on the go like Mind Mapper because ideas don’t wait, they can come anytime.
For more information on mind maps, you can follow @imindmap or @Tony_Buzan or our very own Mumbai based Mind mapper Dharmendra Rai @MindMapsTrainer on Twitter. You can also follow my board on mind maps in Pinterest
There are various books of Tony Byzantine, Michael Taylor and Brian Davidson available which can help you understanding the concepts of mind maps and all the areas where it is useful.
Finally, We can also Mind map the agenda of Toastmasters meeting to present it in a graphical format.
(SLIDE NO. 10)
THANK YOU.
