Тони Бьюзен - Mind Map Handbook

At first you may find doing this a bit embarrassing or intimidating, but it will rapidly become fun and useful – you are, after all, chatting with a friend who has been your companion and supporter throughout your life!

Keep a record of every strength and weakness you observe. Then use the strengths to improve on the weaknesses. That ‘mirror on the wall’ will let you know about your progress in your vocabulary and presentation skills, helping you toward your goal of becoming ‘the fairest of them all’!

Play Vocal Games

Experiment and play games with your voice. This Workout involves both your body and your ability to behave and learn like the ultimate vocabulary acquirer – the child. At least once a day, perhaps in the shower or your car (don’t you often see people singing/chatting to themselves as they drive by you?!), experiment with different vocal sounds, volumes and variations. This is like doing physical stretching exercises for your body – it expands both the width and strength of the instrument. It is also fun to do. Children often play these sorts of games, and if you can join in with them, do!

Sing!

Sing – either privately or publicly! Singing will give you similar benefits to the exercise above, but in a more structurally creative way. When a tune ‘lodges’ in your head, let it free; when you are encouraged to join in at the local karaoke bar, do so; when you are feeling happy or sad, sing songs to yourself; whenever the spirit moves you, allow your musical soul to express itself. As you now know, this release of your musical energy will only benefit and increase the power of your Verbal Intelligence.

Check Your Vocabulary’s Positive/Negative Ratio

Check your private and public vocabularies for their positive/negative ratio. If either or both of them is filled with negatives, remind yourself that this reduces your physical energy, weakens your immune system, pulls down your posture and poise, increases your probability of failure, de-motivates you, and does the same for those around you !

Resolve to fill the new reservoirs of your Verbal Intelligence with more positive, energetic and life-enhancing travelling companions.

The ideas in this chapter are summarized in Plate 13.

Word Power Booster Number 6

In this Word Booster I am going to introduce you to words about words, to further enrich your knowledge of the study in which you are now engaged. Choose the definition that you think is closest to the correct meaning from the four options given for each word.

CLICHÉ ( klée -shay)

(a) Private meaning

(b) Secret area

(c) Hackneyed or stereotyped phrase

(d) Witty pun

SIMILE ( sím -illee)

(a) Radiant expression

(b) Comparing one thing with another

(c) Long expression

(d) Contradiction

AMBIGUITY (am-big- yú -i-tee)

(a) Quite big

(b) Large meaning

(c) Unclear

(d) Eloquently expressed

EUPHEMISM ( yú -fa-mism)

(a) An untruth

(b) A mild word substituted for one that is more direct

(c) A word evoking the sense of smell

(d) A beautiful sounding word

NON SEQUITUR (non sék -wi-ter)

(a) A conclusion that does not follow from the facts

(b) Out of order

(c) A dress without sequins

(d) Not resigning in sequence

REDUNDANCY (re- dún -dan-see)

(a) Stupid

(b) Unnecessary repetition; no longer needed

(c) An over abundance of the colour crimson

(d) Worthless

EPIGRAM ( ép -e-gram)

(a) Twice the weight of a gram

(b) Half the weight of a gram

(c) A concise and witty saying

(d) A Latin law of grammar

ONOMATOPOEIA (ono- mát ta-peer)

(a) Boring sound

(b) Single sound

(c) A word that sounds like what it describes

(d) A word that does not sound like what it describes

PERSIFLAGE ( pérsy -flage)

(a) Light mockery or banter

(b) Flowery speech

(c) Description of flowers

(d) Closed shoot

METAPHOR ( mét -a-for)

(a) A greeting

(b) Something implying a resemblance to something else

(c) A gas which causes drowsiness

(d) A type of bacteria

2.7

Present Yourself – How to Become A Successful Speaker

‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pitchers of silver.’

Proverbs 25:11

‘Whose words all ears took captive.’

Shakespeare

Making presentations gives you the ultimate opportunity to express yourself and to let your Verbal Intelligence bloom.

Yet, surprisingly, making presentations and speaking in public is the Number 1 fear on the planet!

Why? Because lack of confidence in your Verbal Intelligence, and the high probability that speaking in public will expose your perceived low Verbal IQ, is a very valid reason for feeling afraid.

In this chapter I will introduce you to information and exercises that will help you on your path to becoming an excellent speaker.

You will be able to combine what you have learned from previous chapters with the new information here to help you become a powerful and entertaining speaker.

Case Study – Hold Your Tongue!

It is obviously good to be able to know how and when to speak. It is also good to know when not to!

Cardiologists have known for some time that blood pressure can rise in the doctor’s surgery. But why? Claude Le Pailleur and his colleagues at the Necker Hospital wanted to know more about the factors involved.

They devised an experiment in which they compared blood-pressure readings taken while volunteers were sitting in the doctor’s surgery doing nothing, with those taken from patients who were either talking or reading a book.

The readings reduced slightly for those reading a book compared with those doing nothing. The blood pressure of those who talked rose sharply!

The researchers suggest that if you chat enthusiastically with your doctor during a check-up, you could be prescribed drugs you don’t need.

Use your newly developing speaking skills after your blood pressure has been taken!

The Speaking Situation

When you are faced with giving a presentation at work, or any other situation where you have to give a speech in front of other people, the first thing to do is to think about the situation you are really in. You are a Verbally Intelligent person who has the goal of using that Intelligence to express yourself to other Verbally Intelligent people!

As you express yourself to them, your sub-goals will be:

To entertain them as you speak.

To have them understand clearly what you say.

To have them remember what you convey.

To facilitate their use of what you say.

To captivate them by your words.

To make a good and lasting impression.

‘Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.’

Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can achieve the same results as he did!

Hooked on Words

One of the most brilliant boxers ever to emerge from the British Isles was Irishman Barry McGuigan. McGuigan rapidly rose up in the boxing ranks and became the World Featherweight Champion in 1985. He was renowned for his exquisite boxing skills, and was described as the perfect practitioner of the ‘sweet science’. In addition, he was renowned for his positive attitude, his ability to take any set-back in his stride and to learn from it, and for his total dedication to his training.

After he had retired McGuigan became one of the top elite boxers elected to the prestigious Boxing Hall of Fame, an honour reserved for the very few who are considered by the sporting community to be among the greatest champions, as well as individuals who are great ambassadors for their sport.