distribution of an extremely diverse set of products and projects. This universe includes prducts we represent along with branded products, projects that are ongoing and projects that are conceptual and in need of development ... this universe represents over 4 years of discussions so the face to face meeting with their decision makers was a critical juncture in the process ... that being said, this map is the actual one used to do this and how it was used along with some afterthoughts ....I decided that I would use the map in an extremely multifaceted way to create a continuity in all of the presentation parts; the handout, the presentation, and the action to be taken ... I used the map to first put the handout together, the Agenda branch is where that occurs ... the other branches represent seperate but related areas that keep you tight and organized leading to the presentation, during the presentation and to capture the essence after.
The Agenda section is the heart of the animal ... I created a book of product brochures, white papers, other maps and diagrams ... normally something as diverse as this type of book would be such a mess from a handout standpoint that you could become quickly bogged down and lose the flow of the material ... well the mindmap allowed me to logically group and highlight the various portions that I need to emphasize ... I then used the "Agenda" as basically the table of contents and arranged my notebook with 5 dividers ... then is sequence I inserted the respective handouts ... in some cases they were simply the brochures in others they were longer executive summaries .... this structure allowed the meeting to flow nicely and the flow was dictated by the clients ...
For a more formal presentation to a larger group you could easily adapt this by attaching the print peices to the respective nodes for a large presentation group, like a powerpoi
nt presentation, but actually showing the documents that they have in their handouts ... emphasize points by using the inking capability of a tablet PC to keep everything personal on a presentation level and keep it active ... I isolate my branch to present this by using the F4 function key to create this ....This view on my computer is now the meat of the presentation and resided exactly in their book that was prepared .... this allows instant organization to the extremely diverse handouts and also allows them the ability to notate on their sheets and create an archive of what was discussed and what we need to do ....
In all meetings, the key is the flow and continuity, that is the heart of losing both attention and derailing the whole effort ... by using the mind map to tie everything together you obtain the benefits of allowing free roaming over the materials, but the ability to instantly change direction to keep the client thought process flowing ... this map was the heart of over 7 hours of detailed project and product information ... everything discussed came from the book that was prepared ... it is human nature to have a finite ability to focus and also a need move to combat fatigue which is the death of all communication ... I found this method an incredible breakthrough, not only were we able to digest and discuss all of these topics, I realized that we were able to jump around successfully after 10 or 15 minutes on each topic and moved as their interests progressed ... the structure allowed for unstructured flow ... we were able to transition (rest) with a minimum of loss of momentum ... like it to passing a baton in a relay race, we never dropped it and the race continued .... it was exceptionally efficient ... I can see one other thing I could have done and kept everything on my side electronic ... I needed to attach to each piece the electronic print of the document, then I could use my tablet to actually do the presentation and go to actual handout and markup and note right on the computer ...
Now we get to the key .... I used a seperate sheet to create actionable points of discusion ... this last view was printed out and put in a pocket in the binder ... it represented a starting point, but maintained the schedule of all things discussed ... this allows for quick movement from discussions to action ... normally an awkward function to close a meeting or discussion ... this ala carte method allows a nice checklist for simple agreement and buy in to the next steps ... in my case it led to other thoughts they had and that was easily accomadated by actually writing on this handout ....
One of the biggest values of this lies in what you do after ... contemporaneous notes allows one to document the actual discussions and what the presentation did ... using the markup of the sheets in an electronic form allows the capture of the essence ... after the meetings I went back and added notes to each section to archive reactions and followups (remember to flag or write followups with flags which will allow you to quickly make a filtered map with all your followup actions that need to be done) ... all done in this mindmap .... all worked in harmony ... all very very efficient with great impact ... I can see going further by dressing this up with pics and drawings to emphasize areas, etc ... I leave that to you to let the creative juices flow ... but whether you go to 1 or 1,000 this is an effective way of preparing, presenting, and actioning the process of communication and discussion ... the key is the seamless interactive ability to keep discussions and presentations flowing by interaction rather than the normal power point or handouts .... use this to ensure that people get it by allowing them to interact with the presentation rather than remain passive ... that is key to effectiveness ....
PS ... because of the fluid nature of this presentation ... they brought up things that I hadn't thought of ... we tied in other items and added them to the action list at the end, so we actually expanded on this as a function of allowing them to think rather than blindly absorb ... a valuable extension of the process
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