Which one of the two do you find to be more useful for overall learning and developing skills?
I’ve always used mindmaps to help visualise a subject I’m learning and also during meetings to create links between what I’ve learned before and the questions I have to give me deeper meaning. I use them to plan talks BUT so far have failed to use them to help me remember anything. I’d love to know how best to weave them in as a memorising tool, especially for talks. I have a speech I need to give at a university ceremony in two weeks and struggling to turn my branched ideas into something coherent that I can visualise and remember!
Try first getting your script in order, then taking each broad key point and turning it into a visual that you can place into a memory palace journey.
The goal shouldn’t be to memorize the script verbatim, but to allow you to recall what section comes next.
So lets say I’m giving a best-man speech at a wedding. I want to:
Compliment the decor.
Flatter the bride.
Poke fun at the groom.
Tell joke.
Compliment the groom.
Heartfelt quick story about friendship with groom.
Short toast line.
I’d place an image of flowers on a fancy table at the first loci,
The bride looking embarrassed at the second loci,
The groom getting poked with a poker at the third,
The main subject of my joke laughing at the fourth,
The groom looking proud at the fifth
An image that reminds me of the friendship story at the 6th,
An image of clinking glasses with some kind of reminder image of the phrasing of my toast at the 7th.
This way I know what comes next and I won’t skip a key section. I’ll have rehearsed my script enough beforehand that I can naturally get through each section, and then use the memory palace images to keep me on track.
Its important to know your material well and have it organized first. Then the memory technique can lock it in to give you confidence in your delivery.
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There are some scientific studies indicating enhanced recall via mind maps in particular settings:
That said, I don’t use them regularly since I rely on memory palaces and various other mnemonic methods. I do find mind maps quite useful though for getting overviews of deep and wide subjects. For example, I would probably create one for world history if I wanted to organize such a huge amount of information prior to memorizing some of it. If I were starting law school or med school, I would create mind maps for those vast fields as well.
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Thanks so much! It’s probably the knowing of the material well in the first place that I need to focus then. I tend to string things together with puns and anecdotes so might use those as hooks?
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This is it!
Memorization is not understanding. Memorization is greatly enhanced by understanding. By understanding the material you can build better, more well informed imagery to use when memorizing, and you’ll have a solid starting point from the pre-existing connections with that info.