When attending a business meeting, it can be difficult to take notes and stay focused. A good way to resolve this is by note-taking with mind maps. Mind map note-taking is a great way to organize your thoughts and ideas in a clear, concise way.
A mind map is a diagram that shows the hierarchy and organization of complex ideas and information. It is a great tool for taking notes because it can be used to organize thoughts and ideas and allows for easy access to the material. You can effectively create a mind map by identifying the main topic and then listing as many ideas, items, or tasks that are related to that topic in the circles around it.
Create a mind map easily with the Venngage Mind Map Maker and customizable templates.
Click to jump ahead:
- Why are mind map notes necessary for meetings?
- What makes mind mapping notes better for note-taking?
- Why opt for mind-mapping over traditional note-taking?
- 3 best practices for effective mind mapping note-taking
- FAQs about mind map note-taking
Why are mind map notes necessary for meetings?
Using mind maps can be helpful for brainstorming and decision-making. Instead of using your own words through linear notes, you can use concept mapping to record all the ideas from the group. Doing so makes it easy to understand your notes if you plan to use them for future reference.
When making a mind map, you can illustrate your ideas with different colored nodes that are connected by lines. This makes it is easy to see which ideas are related to one another, especially if you’re creating concept maps for multiple ideas, like in the example below.
Even the best note-taking techniques can’t explain everything you can see in a mind map. A strategy mind map template like this is a good way to show the interconnectedness of ideas while allowing you to organize your thoughts through color coding and adding icons.
The way a specific mind map is designed can communicate the different ideas that can come up in a brainstorming session. Check out these brainstorming examples and techniques that can help fuel your brainstorming session and boost problem-solving.
What makes mind mapping notes better for note-taking?
Creating mind mapping notes enables you to create complex diagrams without overthinking. It’s easier to make connections using mapping rather than linear note-taking, which can be time-consuming and tend to leave out important ideas.
Here are some ways mind mapping notes are better for note-taking:
Assists with brainstorming
Brainstorming is one of the most frequently used techniques in decision-making. People share ideas that are added to the center of the map. These ideas then branch out into different directions, which can be shared using words, colors, like in the example below, images, or icons.
This mind map presents a central idea branching into different sub-topics which are visualized as steps.
Venngage’s templates allow you to edit colors and fonts, so it becomes easier to envision the relationships between different ideas.
By creating and visualizing connections in a brainstorming session, mind mapping can help present various options to see different ways of working.
Helps plan tasks
Mind maps are more useful for meetings than traditional linear notes. This is because visualizing thoughts helps keep ideas organized. Mind mapping can also be a good way to plan tasks because you can see the priorities for important items, like in the following example.
This mind map divides sub-ideas into a bulleted list, which makes it easier to see how all the items are connected.
Aside from changing the colors and the typefaces, you can edit this template by adding a checklist of items that need to be completed.
Visualizes connections
In analyzing relationships, a mind map can be filled with words, images, and data. Mind mapping can be a good way to show how different pieces of information connect going back to your main topic or idea.
For startups or small businesses setting up a website, mind mapping can be a useful method for determining the company’s site map. Notes from a discussion about what a website should eventually look like could take the form of this mind map.
You can see how a mind map visualizes connections. By using similar color schemes and styles per branch, this template can help you brainstorm different ways of devising web pages or illustrating key ideas.
With Venngage you can visualize ideas with mind map templates, like the one above, in minutes.
Facilitates communication
The human brain is wired to think in pictures. Mind maps aid the process by visualizing, organizing and expressing thoughts.
This also makes it easier for the person reading the mind map to understand the goal because all ideas and thoughts are presented in an organized manner.
That’s why mind maps are often used for brainstorming, outlining processes, like in the template below, and planning projects.
This mind map communicates the different steps a human resources executive can follow when hiring a new employee.
Change the icons and colors in the template to reflect any type of project.
Speeds up information recall
Mind maps are useful for information recall. With all the related data on a single page, like in the example below, mind maps make it easier for the human brain to build associations between complex concepts and facts.
This template provides all the necessary information at a glance, making it an excellent template that can be used for learning and understanding a bulk of information. In addition to being able to simplify data this way, color coding this template is also a good way to help speed up information recall.
Organizes ideas and concepts
Mind maps use lines or arrows between numerous items, which makes it easier to organize even the most convoluted ideas, like in this process template.
The mind map presents different ideas that are related but don’t necessarily follow a specific sequence.
You can customize this template for a variety of different processes. Change the structure to outline the flow of tasks and subtasks to better reflect your business process.
Why opt for mind-mapping over traditional note-taking?
With changes in technology, some have started suggesting that traditional note-taking with pen and paper is already obsolete compared to digital note-taking.
While a pen and paper are always handy, mind mapping has several benefits when compared to conventional brainstorming.
Provides left-brain training
The left brain is responsible for analyzing and processing information that is presented in a linear and sequential form. This includes both spoken and written information.
On the other hand, the brain’s right hemisphere takes care of the analysis and processing of non-linear and non-sequential information. It is thus mainly used for creative and synthesizing skills.
With this in mind, writing linearly only uses the left brain’s power. A mind map utilizes both brain hemispheres to understand and attain further knowledge.
Encourages creativity
While it is true that linear notes can be a useful way to record factual information, it is not a good way to remember and learn from lessons.
This is because linear notes are usually just lists of facts that have been written down as they were mentioned during a meeting. These notes are often difficult to understand because they consist of abbreviated words and phrases.
Mind mapping leads to better understanding because it organizes information in a way that is easier to grasp.
With a mind map, you can go back and find information easier because you can easily see how it is connected to other data, thanks to its relationship lines. Plus, you can discover unexpected relationships between various elements using visual mind maps.
A mind map can help you see relationships between one element and the main theme and the same element with another element.
Opens up creative connections
A linear thinking format makes it troublesome to see creative connections between other elements.
Instead of encouraging you to combine elements to develop new ideas, it limits you with a two-dimensional structure format that cannot reveal these new thought pathways.
3 best practices for effective mind mapping note-taking
Use simple words
Mind maps are a visual representation of a topic, idea, or thought. The words or phrases that make up a mind map are associated with a central topic. Mind maps are generally created with pen and paper, but can also be created digitally.
The effectiveness of a mind map is determined by how easy it is to read and understand. Simple words make the map comprehensible, making these words easily connectable to one another through lines and shapes.
While it might appear complex, this mind map uses simple words and short phrases to create its mind maps.
Use colors to divide ideas
Mind maps are created by starting with a central idea and then creating ‘branches’ of related ideas.
The branches are typically a different color from the central idea. This provides a visual cue for the person looking at the mind map that each branch is related to the central idea.
It also helps to create a hierarchical structure, which is an important technique for excellent organization.
Business mind maps keep your ideas organized in meetings, which you can book using appointment scheduling to locate time in busy schedules.
Include symbols and images
Maps can be represented by symbols and shapes to make them more efficient and meaningful. These make the map easier and faster for the user to understand and use.
Symbols, shapes, and images allow the reader to process their thinking visually and organize their thoughts in a way that is not always possible with words alone.
These elements also allow the user to categorize their thinking in a way that is easier to visually scan as they are looking for key points that can help them understand the material they’re reading.
FAQs about mind map note-taking
What makes a good mind map?
Mind maps should be carefully planned out according to the main idea or topic. A detailed mind map for business note-taking should contain the following:
- Central themes: Central themes can be a word or phrase that will serve as the basis for all other details in the mind map. They have key points that help simplify the idea and make it easy to understand the steps towards the solution.
- Key concepts: Key concepts are main ideas that branch out from the central theme. This can be further broken down into subpoints to communicate a concept, idea, or thought that is relevant to the topic.
- References: Your references provide facts and figures, helping you validate your mind map’s steps towards the solution. This can also include images, links to articles, and other types of media.
What are the types of note-taking?
There are six types of note-taking methods. Mapping or mind-mapping is the one we’ve discussed in this post. Here are the five others that may interest you:
- Outline: The outline note-taking process involves taking notes in outline form, where each main idea is expanded into a separate paragraph, and different sub-ideas are indented accordingly. It is usually done with index cards.
- Cornell: The Cornell note-taking method is an alternative strategy for taking notes in college courses. Students first copy or type the course materials, then they transcribe the lectures, and finally, they summarize the notes on their own.
- Boxing: The boxing note-taking method is a way of taking notes that involves drawing a square or rectangle, labelling the four quadrants with keywords, and then drawing lines to connect related points.
- Charting: The charting note-taking method is a method of note-taking where students write down key points and then create a graphical representation, such as a graph or table, of the information.
- Sentence: The sentence note-taking method entails writing out the sentence as it is heard, then paraphrasing what was just written. This approach allows the writer to take better notes, as they can keep track of the main points of a passage.
Mind maps are the most efficient way for note-taking
If you want to study notes for your business easily, making excellent mind maps as your notes is one of the best ways to do it.
Use Venngage’s free mind-mapping software to help you create the best mind map templates to gather the best components of your different ideas in one place. Register today for a free Venngage account and start mind mapping.
We also invite you to upgrade to a Venngage business account to access My Brand Kit, which lets you add your company’s logo, color palette, and fonts to all your designs with a single click.
A business account also includes the real-time collaboration feature, so you can invite members of your team to work simultaneously on a project.
