Tony Buzan’s… Most Important Graph in the World

Allow me to introduce to you the Recall During Learning graph. Or as Tony Buzan would call it, the Most Important Graph in the World…

This graph is the bedrock for all global memory systems, a basis for creative thinking, and the theoretical foundation of Mind Mapping. It can improve and aid a broad range of areas, including public speaking, teaching, self-management, and of course memory. In this blog post we will become intimately acquainted with the graph, stripping it down to its components so that you can utilise it in your day to day life.

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Kick starting the New Year, we held our latest ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructor Course at the Hotel du Vin in Henley, UK. With a diverse group of new recruits in attendance, they were eager to explore their creativity, bounce ideas off one another and get to grips with the iMindMap software.

Over the 4 day period, attendees from across the world learnt everything there is to know about Mind Mapping. Thanks to the GRASP solution system, Mind Mapping techniques and the iMindMap software tool, our recruits were able to take a new approach to a wide variety of tasks. Stimulating exercises and a concise step-by-step approach gave everyone the opportunity to harness their creativity, enhance mental performance and identify how they could use creative thinking techniques in their daily lives.

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Almost 12 months since a fire badly damaged the 140-year-old boathouse at Marlow Rowing Club (Tony Buzan’s home away from home), the community gathered together to raise money to rebuild and return the club to its former glory, as well as for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity. The main event was ‘Row with Redgrave’ – an exclusive opportunity for guests to row with the five times Olympic rowing gold medallist, Sir Steve Redgrave. Six of the guests rose to the challenge, one of which being our very own Tony Buzan.

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Two months ago we received a letter for Tony Buzan from a company in Orlando, Florida, inviting him to come and take a tour of their facility. One month ago, when Tony and CEO, Chris Griffiths, were in Florida for the ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructor Course, they took them up on the offer and paid a little visit. What they saw there was a company that had incorporated Mind Mapping and creative thinking into their process so perfectly, that even Tony couldn’t find any room for improvement.

Tony Buzan at The Proposal Center in Orlando, Florida discussing Dr. Arnold J. Meagher’s Lawyering Mind Map. Left to Right, proprietor Carl Selfe, Kelly Selfe, Dr. Meagher, Mr. Buzan, and ThinkBuzan CEO Chris Griffiths.

The company is The Proposal Center, part of TechServ Inc., and they help other companies to develop and write government proposals. 16 years ago partners Carl K. Selfe and Dr. Arnold J. Meagher took a hard look at the proposal development process and identified what they believed to be the key weakness.

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20th January 2012, by Tony Buzan

The ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructor Course at the St. David’s Hotel & Spa in Cardiff UK this January marked the beginning of an exciting and promising year for the growing troop of ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructors and representatives of the ThinkBuzan brand!

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Many people ask us what they can expect from our ThinkBuzan Licensed Instructor (TLI) course – what better way to answer this than by letting them see for themselves?

Take a look at our video highlights from the latest TLI course held in the home city of ThinkBuzan, Cardiff, UK.   Hear from the TLI graduates themselves as they share what they took away from the course, along with clips of Chris Griffiths presenting his new philosophy ‘GRASP The Solution’ and Tony Buzan’s inspiring explanation of where Mind Mapping originated from:

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Record Breaking

July saw three world records being smashed at the fifth annual UK Schools Memory Championships held in prestigious Keyworth Centre in London, proudly sponsored by ThinkBuzan.  The city of Sunderland dominated the top spots this year with five of the top ten competitors being from this area. The winner Mark Towers was the overall winner, recalling an amazing 155 words, 106 numbers, 21 fictional dates and 16 playing cards, giving him an overall score of 1448.  Mark was also the first ever male to win, another achievement!

The School Memory Championships are always an extremely popular event and this year was no exception! The event engages students in the sport of memory, developing their mental skills and encouraging advancement in their studies.

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We ran a ThinkSmart Workshop last week, a free event for children from the local area.  18 youngsters ranging from the age of 2 to 17, plus a handful of eager parents, descended on the ThinkBuzan headquarters for an afternoon of brain-boosting sessions and activities.

Covering creativity, learning skills, whole brain thinking and memory, we really put the kids through their paces.  Sessions were held by our resident ThinkBuzan experts, including two from CEO Chris Griffiths, and Tony Buzan finishing off the day with an energetic introduction to memory skills that even got the parents on their feet shouting the answers.

The children made some fantastic Mind Maps on their summer holiday plans, impressing us all with their creative flare and quick uptake!

“They created some of the most beautiful first Mind Maps I have ever seen.”  Tony Buzan

A lively bunch, a special mention must be made for the enthusiasm and quick wits of one young participant, Ryan.  With his hand up and waving for every question, Ryan had to be held back to allow some of the other children to share their answers. When the rest of us were scratching our heads or counting up on on our fingers and toes, Ryan was shouting out the answers within milliseconds. It seemed we had a mathematical wizard in our midst and he was a pleasure to teach, as were they all.

A great day was had by all and everyone came away with lots of new ideas and skills, including how and when to Mind Map, all about whole brain thinking, how to use the iMindMap software, how to remember the planets of our solar system – in reverse order, and how to make a piece of paper super aerodynamic! We look forward to seeing what they do next, especially our man Ryan!

If you want to get your kids Mind Mapping this summer, take a look at 6 Tips to Activate Your Child’s Mind In The Summer Holidays. For more info on our training courses, visit the Training Centre.

To see all of the photos from the ThinkSmart workshop, take a look here.

Last month Tony Buzan visited Kirkby Sports College in the Knowsley school district of North-West England for a day of Mind Mapping with the pupils.

This followed many months of conversation between ThinkBuzan and Knowsley as we have been watching them turn assumptions about what education should be on their head.

I spoke to Sue Baker, the Learning and Attainment Manager. She gave me the lowdown on Tony’s visit, what they’ve been doing to improve their academic status and what a ‘mentally literate’ school might look like.

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At last the months of work have come to fruition and I am overjoyed to see in iMindMap 5 the manifestation of a dream I’ve had ever since I first formed the idea of Mind Mapping.

This is a remarkably intelligent piece of software and I am teetering on the edge of my seat to see the change it will bring to the way people think about thinking.  The team at ThinkBuzan have put everything into iMindMap 5 and the result is a revolution.

I hope you are as thrilled as I am with iMindMap 5 and look forward to hearing how you will put it to use!

Tony on iMindMap 5

Hear Tony talk about iMindMap 5 and what it means to him.