In a recent survey, the readers of this blog identified  making presentations with mind mapping software as one  of the topics they really wanted to know more about.

Most people have sat through more mind-numbing  PowerPoint presentations than they care to think about.  Most contain too much text and not enough visuals to  capture and retain the audience’s attention. That’s why  mind mapping software, with its organic visual  appearance, is a compelling alternative for presenting  your ideas.

Most of the top mind mapping software programs now  offer a presentation mode, which enable you to walk your  audience one branch at a time through your map’s  content in a very focused, engaging way. To do this  effectively, however, there are a number of key things you  need to keep in mind:

Building your presentation

1. Good organization of your map content is a must. Remember: many people in your audience may not  have seen a presentation made with mind mapping  software before. Once the “wow” factor wears out,  you need to be able to persuade or inform them with  map content that is well organized into a natural  progression or “flow” that your audience can easily  follow.

2. Try not to make your map too complex, because the  average person can’t keep more than 3 to 4 key  points in their mind at one time. That’s why  PowerPoint slides with more than 3-4 bullet points  are famously ineffective. Presentation expert Cliff  Atkinson calls this the “eye of the needle” effect: if  the typical human brain can only handle a limited  number of “chunks” of information at that time, then  we need to plan our presentations accordingly.

Atkinson recommends formatting your mind map as  a right-facing tree, starting with a top-level topic and  then drilling down into successive levels of detail. The  key is to break your presentation down into digestible  “chunks” that the minds of your audience members  can easily process. Mind mapping software is an  invaluable tool for deconstructing your presentation  topic into its component parts. Also, formatting your  map as a right-facing tree makes it easier for you to  envision the flow from broad overview to the details of  your presentation, and will ultimately make it easier  for your audience to follow the progression of what  you’re trying to say.

3. Be sure to incorporate color and images into your  mind map, to add visual interest and engage your  audience. The brain loves color and images, and  you’ll get better audience attention if you make them  part of your map. After all, you would never dream of  making a PowerPoint presentations with black-and-  white slides, would you? Then why would you do so  with a mind mapping program?

4. Limit the number of levels of topics in your map,  since each one will open as a separate step in your  presentation. That’s the functional equivalent of  incorporating too many transitions into a single  PowerPoint slide – where you may have to click your  mouse numerous times to get all of your slide’s  content to display. It tends to annoy audiences and  breaks the flow of your presentation too much. So try  to avoid it.

5. Know your audience: Finally, as with preparing any PowerPoint  presentation, know your audience and plan  accordingly. A presentation made to your firm’s  president shouldn’t contain as much detail as one  made to middle level managers, for example.

Pre-presentation preparation

6. Be sure you’re familiar with your program’s presentation mode controls. What if a member of  your audience asks if you can go back to particular  topic on screen? Could you do it? Like a good Boy  Scout, you need to “be prepared.”

7. Test everything: If you’re going to use file or web links in your map-based presentation, you should remember to test  them beforehand, in the location where you will be  making the presentation. This will help you to verify  several things: First, that the Internet connection is  working; second, that your links are properly  formatted (for example, if a web link is improperly  formatted, it may not open during your presentation,  or you may get a “page not found” error – how  embarrassing!); and third, that your map and  presentation controls are displayed properly at the  native resolution of the projector or web conferencing  application that’s being used to display your  presentation.

A recent experience of mine helps to illustrate the  importance of advance preparation. Recently, I was  one of two speakers in a webinar, and I was using  MindManager 7 to support my presentation via  WebEx. Much to my shock, when I entered the  program’s presentation mode, the presentation  control bar was hidden behind the Windows toolbar -  which meant I had a major problem. Fortunately, I  discovered this before it was my turn to present, and  I quickly changed the settings of my laptop’s toolbar  to “auto-hide” – and I was able to successfully give  my presentation. But I should have tested this before  the webinar started. You can never be too careful  when it comes to presentation technology. When you  least expect it, it can bite you in the butt!

8. Annotation adds value to your presentation: If you’re presenting to a small group, don’t forget that  many programs that have a presentation mode also  enable you to annotate your map with additional  topics, notes and other resources. It’s a great way to  record team member feedback during the meeting.  When the meeting is over, you can e-mail the  annotated map to the people who attended your  meeting, as a set of visual “minutes” of the meeting.

Conclusion

If you take these steps to prepare a solid, well-organized  mind map and test everything prior to your meeting as I  have recommended, you should be able to deliver a  presentation that will “wow” your audience, and will help  them to retain your key messages.

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