Although I’ve broken down the process of drawing visual maps into 10 distinct steps, you’ll soon realize that only two steps are truly critical: (1) that you identify/add key concepts and (2) that you organize/connect key concepts correctly and meaningfully.
In other words, provided you do these two things, you don’t need to worry too much about the mapping process. Visual maps come in many variations and you may encounter other visual mapping guides that describe a different organization order or number of steps. The visual maps that you make are yours alone, and you have the flexibility to choose the form that best suits your purpose and needs.
Hand-drawn visual maps are the most practical when you don’t have access to a computer, for example, when you’re attending a meeting. However, visual mapping has come a long way since the days when getting out a piece of paper and a pencil was your only option. These days, visual mapping programs are sophisticated, flexible, and available for almost any electronic platform. They offer features that hand-drawn maps can’t replicate. The following visual map details (in alphabetical order) some of the major advantages to using electronic mapping programs.