"My kids learned that in school." I've heard that comment several times after my writing workshops. Schools are teaching mind mapping to help children to organize their thoughts before writing. That's why I use it, too.
If your child talks to you about mind mapping, consider learning more from them about this technique. Your daughter or son may be able to teach you a useful skill. Based on what my friends tell me, schools typically teach mapping in second or third grade. Instead of mind mapping, they may call it idea mapping, concept mapping, semantic mapping or writer's workshop.
I never write a long, complex article without mapping my information first. Mapping makes me a more efficient writer. Try it, you may like it.
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Susan B. Weiner, CFA
Check out my website at www.InvestmentWriting.com or sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter.
Copyright 2009 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved
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Great post, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI love mindmapping, and it helps me in many areas including writing, client meetings, presentations, and more.
I need to be more consistent in my use of mindmapping. So far, of all the mindmapping tools I've tried, I like MindMeister (http://www.mindmeister.com) best.
And of course, you can't go wrong with good old pen & paper :)
Russ,
ReplyDeleteI'm a paper and pencil gal. I find MindMeister easy to use, but when my maps get complex, the dratted type size gets too small, especially on printouts. Thanks for commenting!
Great idea! Clear, organized writing always has a solid structure, and what better way to create a structure than by mind mapping. Thank you for this tip.
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