How to Make a PowerPoint Mind Map

A PowerPoint presentation isn't only about words anymore. Fully written presentations have grown obsolete in recent years, with the use of photographs and other visual aids becoming the standard.

The use of mind maps has grown in popularity. A PowerPoint mind map is a popular tool in the business world for visualising complex information. It organises vital content in a very plain and uncomplicated manner, making it simple to acquire and understand for your readers.

We'll explain what a mind map is, how to put them into your PowerPoint presentation, and how to utilise them effectively to express your material in this blog post.

What exactly is a mind map and how does it work?

Have you ever experienced something similar? You have a million ideas running through your head, but you're having trouble organising them and articulating them in a way that others can understand. All flashes of inspiration fade away after a while, and you're back to square one. Fortunately, there is an efficient tool for collecting and presenting your ideas creatively: the mind map. But what precisely is it?

A diagram of your mind

A mind map, as its name suggests, aids in the mapping of thinking processes. To put it another way, it offers ideas a clear and logical structure that anyone can follow. This permits thoughts and concepts to be visualised.

A mind map is a visual representation of concepts, elements, words, or tasks that are linked around a central idea or theme. The centre of a mind map is formed by this central theme. Consider a mind map to be a city map: The city centre is your main idea, and all of the streets flowing away from it are supporting, subsidiary ideas.

The mind map is a model that is visually pleasing. A mind map, rather than extensive lists of tedious information, provides colourful and distinctive accents to your PowerPoint presentation and gives your viewers a highly ordered and professional image.

Mind maps are ideal for the following tasks:

• Visualizing and brainstorming your ideas
  
• expressing and presenting your ideas
• Meetings that are visually organised are more effective.
• Tasks and projects are being simplified.

The concept of mind mapping

The basic mind map concept, which involves arranging items in a circular pattern around an image, has been around for centuries. However, British psychologist Tony Buzan is credited with popularising the mind map as we know it today. Buzan claimed in the 1970s that information is best understood when it is organised non-linearly. Students' grades improved by 12% when they used mind maps, according to a Johns Hopkins study. But how do you do it?

A mind map is a tool with a visual design that is intended to engage and stimulate your brain. As a result, it's a highly effective instrument for disseminating information. Furthermore, it is a practical note-taking tool.

The initial design of mind maps remains the same: a natural structure radiating outwards from its centre. The inclusion of lines, symbols, colours, and images transforms the mind map into a simple graphic. The mind map organises information into a visually appealing, well-organized, and professional layout, making it more accessible and simpler to remember.

The cerebral cortex is the brain's information processing area. All sensations, perceptions, memories, associations, thoughts, and voluntary bodily acts take place in this area. Logic, colours, lists, numbers, imagination, words, and shape are some of them. Both hemispheres of the brain are responsible for these abilities: the left hemisphere is responsible for logic, while the right hemisphere is responsible for creativity. Thinking improves when both hemispheres of the brain operate together. Your thinking is improved in terms of clarity, structure, and organisation.

A mind map stimulates both hemispheres of the brain by engaging the imagination through the use of colours, lines, and phrases. In fact, a mind map may be called the ideal thinking tool because it uses both hemispheres of the brain to achieve optimum knowledge.

A thousand words are worth a thousand pictures.

This is a proverb that most of us have heard before, and it is totally true. Pictures influence a considerable portion of both cerebral hemispheres' skills, particularly the imagination. As a result, we often find images to be more compelling and emotive than words, creating a variety of associations that promote creative thinking.

Here's when a mental map comes in handy. Not only can images be utilised in individual branches, but the mind map itself is an image in and of itself, making it an excellent tool for visualising presenting content.

Preparation is crucial.

Now that you know what a mind map is and how to make one for your PowerPoint presentation, it's time to learn how to make one. Preparation is essential:

We frequently have the best ideas at inopportune times. You don't have a pen and paper with you, or your smartphone's battery dies yet again. Situations like these occur frequently and hinder us from writing down our ideas.

Carrying a tiny notebook and a pen with you is always a smart idea. It's a faster answer for many of us than using a smartphone, where you have to choose the correct app before you can start organising your thoughts. Putting your thoughts on paper is an excellent way to prepare for your PowerPoint mind map. Keep in mind that you should be able to carry your notebook with you at all times.

 How to Make a Mind Map in PowerPoint

It's now time to start making your PowerPoint mind map. Here's how to do it step by step.

• Create a new presentation in PowerPoint.
• Begin with a blank slide. As a result, remove any pre-created text boxes, placeholders, and so on.
• You can now select from the following options:

Using simple shapes

Let's start with the fundamental shapes. On the Insert tab, you'll find the Shapes option. By selecting it, you will be presented with a variety of different forms, such as rectangles, lines, arrows, and so on. Place your preferred shape in the middle of the presentation to represent the key concept of your PowerPoint mind map. Other shapes can then be added as crucial pieces surrounding the basic notion.

Use lines to connect the forms and establish relationships between them. The anchor points (also known as edge points) are used to join the forms together. When you bring the terminal point of a line close to a shape, these appear automatically. To finish your PowerPoint mind map, fill in the shapes with your selected text or image material.

Select a rectangle from Insert > Shapes as an example. By holding down the mouse button and dragging the rectangle to the desired location on your slide, you may add it to your presentation. To continue altering the shape, click on it. This will bring up the Shape Format menu. You can now modify the shape's colour or style. If you wish to copy and paste the same object into your slide without going through these procedures, use the shortcut keys Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. Do you wish to join your forms together? Return to the Insert > Shapes menu. Select the relevant arrow from the drop-down menu and paste it into your slide using the same techniques as before.

Use graphics created with SmartArt.

The SmartArt option in the Insert tab is the second way to make a mind map template. To access the Chose a SmartArt Graphic box, click the SmartArt icon. You'll now see a number of various diagram types. Select Diverging Radial from the Relationship drop-down menu in the left column. When you click OK, the chart will appear on your PowerPoint display.

Edit and personalise

To alter and create your PowerPoint mind map, you can use Microsoft Office PowerPoint's many formatting choices. Customization options are available on the Home, Insert, and Format tabs, including colour changes, the use of photos, and other visual markers.

Text should be added to your mind map.

After you've finished preparing the shapes, you may begin adding text or bullet points. To do so, double-click on the shape where you want the text to be inserted and type in your content. Select the text with your mouse and go to the Home tab to change the font, size, or colour. The Font group is where you may make the necessary modifications.

Summary:

Mind maps are a simple method for helping your audience grasp your content. We learned in this post that mind maps offer a cognitive and visual edge over text alone. Furthermore, they provide a welcome break from text-heavy presentations, helping to captivate and hold your audience's attention.

PowerPoint novices and experts alike can design an excellent mind map thanks to simple editing options.

Our store now sells pre-made PowerPoint mind map template sets. Our templates come with a variety of design options that you can personalise for your presentation.