 |
||||
|
HERE'S HOW WE WORK: Whenever possible Mariah Howard and I work together. We both create visual records (Mindscapes) while working with groups. Often I facilitate while Mariah records. We usually create a set of large Mindscapes during the presentations and discussions and post them around the room. At the end of a session I take ten or fifteen minutes to explain some of the key features of the Mindscapes and give feedback to the group regarding the highlights and themes of the session. Mindscapes represent more than a record of what occurred, they provide a visual synthesis, lending clarity to the material and showing the way that ideas relate to one another. Mariah photographs the color images, touches them up in Photoshop, and puts them directly onto a discthat she will sendto you for use on your web site, for making slide presentations or enhancing reports. As shown below, we make smaller black and white versions of Mindscapes in for participants to take home. The small 'scapes serve as the conference proceedings record. These are Mindscapes from the up-coming Change Handbok. They were drawn during conferences, copied and handed out. Click on each one to see larger versions.
People often spend time reviewing these visuals and sharing the contents with colleagues. It's a lot easier to take someone through a Mindscape while discussing the details than it is to review a written document with them. We often include a few Mindscapes for people to fill in later, encouraging them to think about how they will apply the information they gained during the conference. During executive development seminars we can teach the basics of mind mapping to groups of any size. The technique is then applied toward planning or problem solving. With basic mapping skills, you can create visual records for note-taking, brainstorm on paper, plan and deliver presentations and conduct negotiations. Mindscaping is a more free form version of mind mapping and is introduced after the basics of mapping are understood. One of the most effective approaches to introducing Mindscaping, often called visual synthesis, in a company is for us to record a meeting or seminar so that everyone can then see how maps and Mindscapes create a memorable visual record of ideas and how the relationships between concepts can be drawn as well. Then we can follow up with a training for those interested in becoming mappers. Many of the maps that we create are not traditional "mind maps". We call them Mindscapes because they chart the landscapes of the mind. Mindscapes can be mural sized and work particularly well in developing shared visions. Two of us working on either end of a large mural can rapidly capture whatever is said. Several companies have hired us to make a mural map of the whole company. These are displayed to show employees, visitors and customers how the company is designed. New employees each receive a small version of the Mindscape so that they can see how the job they will be doing contributes to the whole. As you can see, the process has numerous applications -- I can tailor it to fit the specific needs of the client. Any documents that I create belong to the sponsoring organization to use in the future for presentations, publications and hand-outs. |
