Step 3: Adding detail

Now that you’ve established the broad outline of your talk you can add as many details to the main branches as you like.

Details may include the following elements:

check.png Detailed content in the form of sub-branches

check.png Graphic information like symbols and colour coding

Just how detailed your Mind Map turns out to be depends on how familiar you are with your topic. If you’re working in an area that you know very well, then just a few keywords suffice to make the content presentable. If you’re not so sure about your subject matter, it’s sensible to add more details to your Mind Map to ensure that the information is readily available.

tip.eps Especially when using Mind Maps as a prop for a talk or lecture, you should work with many graphic elements and colours, as they’re assimilated particularly quickly and easily and more rapidly than words. This means that you need only glance at your notes briefly and can then devote yourself wholeheartedly to your audience.

This step involves striking a balance between essential details on the one hand and not overloading the Mind Map on the other. If you notice that a Mind Map is becoming too crowded then start another page on which further ...

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