Organize Meeting Notes Using Mind Mapping Software

Mind Mapping software has been thought to be instrumental in helping people to organize their thoughts around a variety of topics. One area in which Mind Mapping software is useful is in organizing notes for meetings. Whether it is a business or personal meeting, presenting the notes for the meeting in an organized manner that everyone can understand is paramount. Using a Mind Mapping software tool to help with this organization can make the process much simpler, through the use of its various “mapping” components. Meeting presenters, thus, have the advantage of using Mind Mapping software to create a visually stimulating, intuitive, meeting presentation.

What is Mind Mapping Software?

Mind Mapping software is any software that is used to create diagrams, pictures, and other graphic visuals in order to show the relationship between ideas or other types of information.¹ With Mind Maps, the key concept or main idea of the information being presented is represented by a central image, located in the center of the map. Any themes surrounding the main topic are shown on “branches” that are attached to the central image, with subsequent themes of less importance attached by “twigs”. The resulting diagram is a “map” of the ideas and information shown in a spatial, rather than linear, format. Moreover, along with the ideas shown on the map are visual graphics, images and colors that the constructor of the “map” associates with each of the themes and ideas. Mapping out information in this manner is believed to allow the brain to process the information in a manner more consistent with its natural functioning.

Using a Mind Map to Organize Notes for a Meeting

Suppose that your advertising team is having its weekly meeting to discuss advertising projects. The organizer of the meeting has made notes for the meeting so that everyone can follow along as she covers each topic. Using a traditional meeting outline to organize these notes would likely look like this:

Weekly Advertising Meeting

I.Report on the Status of Advertising Accounts Already Underway

A.Movieflix In-Home Rentals Account

B.Teenage Blog Commercial Account

C.On-line Dating Site Account

II.Discussion of Upcoming Advertising Accounts

A.Nationwide Gym Account

B.Local Library Account

III.Suggestions From the Team Regarding Possible Future Accounts

IV.Overview of This Week’s Schedule

A.Team Assignments for New Accounts

B.Finalize Deadlines for New Accounts

V.Questions

Contrast this outline with the attached Mind Map diagram of these same meeting notes. On the Mind Map, the topics to be covered are presented in a spatial, colorful, graphically stimulating manner. In addition, the colors and pictures on the Mind Map relate to the topics and the topic sub-points. The information shown in the outline and on the Mind Map is the same, however, the information on the Mind Map is much easier to process.

Giving the Meeting Presentation Using the Mind Map

The attached Mind Map not only exemplifies the inherent creativity and visual ease that it has over a traditional outline, it also exemplifies a more intuitive form of organizing information. This intuitive form makes it easier to present information, because the information can be quickly processed and recalled. For example, the meeting’s presenter may not immediately recall the topic for point three and, therefore, needs to consult her notes to jog her memory. With the traditional outline shown above, she would have to scan the list of words to attempt to find the point she is supposed to talk about. However, with the Mind Map, the presenter can easily spot the third topic on the map, as well as the associated picture. She can regain her place with just a glance at the Map, versus the more tedious search of the outline, facilitating an easier presentation.

1. Farrand, Paul; Hussain, Fearzana and Hennessy, Enid (May 2002). “The efficacy of the ‘mind map’ study technique”. Medical Education 36 (5): 426–431.