Mind Mapping with MindGenius

Mind Mapping with MindGenius is simple and straightforward and lets you create your mind maps in a reusable format,
get through more work in a shorter period of time and share your thinking and ideas with colleagues.

Getting started with your MindGenius map

Traditional Mind Mapping uses paper to graphically represent ideas and information. Thoughts and ideas are sketched
around a key subject or idea in the form of branches and areas are colour-coded. However, making changes is
problematic and maps can become messy and complex. With traditional mind maps, there are limitations due to the
paper size.

With a MindGenius electronic mind map, you can follow all of the traditional Mind Mapping rules, with the added
advantage that you can re-use or amend your map at any time and never run out of space. MindGenius allows your map
to grow as large as you need it to but you will continue to be able to see the big picture as well as the detail.

The traditional rules of Mind Mapping are:

1. Use blank paper
2. Turn the paper landscape
3. Start in the centre
4. Make a colourful image of the topic
5. Add the main themes as one word or image
6. Branch off the main themes
7. Add second levels of thought
8. Continue with third and fourth levels
9. Incorporate colour, symbols or arrows
10. Outline or enclose branches

The MindGenius default template has a plain background that doesn’t distract or interfere with the user’s thinking
process and is naturally landscape. When you choose the “map view” layout template, which can be found on the
Home Ribbon it allows you to start in the centre. Name your central core as the main topic idea of your map. This helps
you to focus your mind onto your subject area. You can then add an image to the central core, either by selecting an
image from the MindGenius Picture Gallery or by importing a jpeg image or clipart.

Creating a map
Next you should add your main themes. Using the Type and Return feature, you can quickly map out these initial ideas.
You can continue to use Type and Return as your ideas start to flow. This allows you to quickly build up an overall view
of a subject. You don’t need to add your ideas in order as you can easily restructure at a later point. In a mind map you
should restrict the text you type into a branch to one word as this allows more creative ideas to flow. Use this to
summarise wordy text based information sources into an easier to understand format using keywords and associations to
highlight important points. This will mean you will create your map more quickly and also help creative thinking and
memory recall.

As you add your secondary levels of text, you just need to select the branch you want your secondary ideas to be linked
to and start typing. You should do this to add third and fourth level of branches too. All other branches lead out from the
central branch in a hierarchical format that shows interdependencies and importance in a “parent-child” relationship, for

MindGenius is a registered Trade Mark of MindGenius Ltd. Copyright MindGenius Ltd. 2008.
example the branches that come directly from the central branch could be considered to be like the chapter headings in a
book. They help you to see at a glance what they key points in your map are.

Personalising your map

Incorporate colour, symbols or arrows
Traditional Mind Mapping also recommends adding pictures, colours and linkages between branches to help stimulate
memory recall. While this may not always be relevant or essential in the business world, it is good practice to follow if you
are using MindGenius and Mind Mapping to help you learn something new as images are often easier to remember than
words or phrases. Colour also helps to stimulate memory. MindGenius allows you to visually build relationships between
different branches by adding colour, categories or mental connections and to insert your own images through using
the Insert and Format Ribbons. This personalising works even more effectively if the images you use, mean something
to you.

Applying Categories from the Analyze Ribbon allows you to add symbols to your map to see at a glance when
branches are linked in some way. This also allows you to filter the map at any time and view linked ideas in isolation in a
Category View Map.

In order to add arrows, you need to select the MindGenius mental connection tool. Again this allows you to link
seemingly disparate branches which contain linked ideas.

Outline or enclose branches

To add outlines to branches to highlight them or give them more importance, select the Format Ribbon and select the
Boundaries Style option. You can also alter the colour and line style here.

Floating text and images can also be added to a MindGenius map. This means additional pictures or key points can be
placed anywhere that is relevant on the map. These options can be found on the Insert Ribbon.

These acts of personalising your map will aid memory recall and make it easier to memorise the details contained within
the map.

Mapping with MindGenius

You may have experience of using hand drawn mind maps but as useful as hand drawn maps are, they have limitations
when you need to explore the issue in more detail, or when you need to use the information elsewhere. MindGenius
allows you to follow all of the traditional Mind Mapping rules above but continue on and do the following:

Map structure and hierarchy

An added advantage of MindGenius over traditional mapping is you can order your thoughts easily at a later stage using
Drag and Drop. Drag and Drop allows you to visually restructure your map at any time to add further order to your map.
The order in which your thoughts come out reflects your sequence of thinking and may not best reflect how you wish
your map to be structured. Drag and Drop allows you to restructure to add hierarchy to the map in order to develop a
structure which is extremely useful when using notes as the basis for essays, presentations and projects and to show
interdependencies and importance in a “parent-child” relationship which helps to develop understanding.

Map Explorer
As your ideas continue to flow, your map will become large. Use Map Explorer to easily refer back to sections of the
map at any point, to revisit ideas and to focus in on one part of your notes at a time and look at ideas in isolation.

MindGenius is a registered Trade Mark of MindGenius Ltd. Copyright MindGenius Ltd. 2008.
Edit, adding and deleting
Further elaboration or content changes can be done easily at any time with no need to recreate or redraw the map.

Using Mind Mapping to get thoughts out of your head

MindGenius can also be used to get thoughts out of your head to build up a clear picture of what you need to do for team
or individual projects, presentations or reports. Using mapping techniques helps you to come up with more creative ideas
and to gain a deeper understanding on what needs to be done.

You also have the option to export your thinking to be MS Office packages such as PowerPoint, Word and Project.

Sharing your thinking with colleagues

In business, hand drawn maps are not always received well. It may be difficult for colleagues to read a hand drawn map,
or they may not see the value in the effort that has gone into the creating the look of the map, despite the fact the map
may contain great ideas. With MindGenius, you can either share your thinking with colleagues in map format, or you can
again utilise the option to export to a range of MS Office packages such as Word or PowerPoint.

Things to consider when Mind Mapping with MindGenius

Have you given your central branch the name of your main idea?
Have you considered all connections to the central idea?
Have you considered the who, what, where, when, why and how of the situation?
Have you highlighted relationships between branches, either using colour or connections?
Have you helped memory recall by adding images?
Have you brainstormed all of your ideas?

What next?
Using MindGenius, you can use Mind Mapping to greatly aid memory recall but also to help get thoughts out of your
head and to build a deeper understanding of subjects. Your maps can be edited and re-used at any time without the
need to recreate them.

Select a “map view” layout template or Mind Mapping template to get started with your Mind Mapping session.

MindGenius is a registered Trade Mark of MindGenius Ltd. Copyright MindGenius Ltd. 2008.