Mind Mapping for Facilitation. Biggerplate Unplugged Berlin (Oct 2014)

In this presentation, Marco Ossani explores how mind mapping elevates facilitated meetings and workshops. Marco demonstrates mapping techniques that help participants visually structure ideas, promote engagement, and navigate complexity. The talk begins with Ossani explaining that mind maps provide a central anchor and branching structure, grounding discussions visually. Attendees contribute keywords, which are placed as primary branches; subtopics then proliferate as conversation deepens. This evolving “map on the wall” keeps participants aligned and fosters collective ownership. He walks through a case where a workshop confronted overlapping themes: objectives, problem areas, and stakeholder concerns. Using different colors, icons, and numbering, Ossani clarifies group thinking paths and highlights connections. The map doubles as an agenda tracker—topics covered are marked off in real time. Ossani emphasizes the role of facilitation: the map doesn’t replace a facilitator but empowers them to spot divergent opinions, prompt clarification, and make consensus visible. The session winds up by linking mapped insights to follow-up actions—assigning responsibilities and documenting next steps. Ossani underlines that mind mapping transforms workshop outputs into clear, visual roadmaps for teams to act on. Timestamped highlights 00:00–01:00 – Introduction & overview of mind mapping in facilitation 01:01–02:30 – Building a structured map: central topic, branches, keywords 02:31–04:00 – Group interaction: color coding, icons, agenda tracking 04:01–05:30 – Managing divergent views: facilitator’s role in alignment 05:31–06:45 – Recommended tools & low-tech alternatives 06:46–08:00 – From map to action: assigning tasks and documenting outcomes Featuring iMindMap software