People sometimes like to make maps about certain topics and pass these on to people. They like to provide information that people can use to pursue their chosen journeys successfully.
Some people make maps of physical things. These may include towns, countries and planets. They may chart journeys across land, sea or space. Some may create diagrams of the body, brain or other physical objects.
Some people make maps of practical things. They may provide guidebooks, instruction manuals or designs that enable people to use tools, run projects or do practical tasks successfully.
Some people make maps about professional things. They may describe principles, guidelines or other approaches that people can follow to perform excellent work in their chosen profession.
Some people make maps of psychological things. They may provide models that help people to make sense of human emotions, behaviour and challenges.
Some people make maps of philosophical theories. They may use diagrams, models or other methods to highlight the key concepts. They may also show how this information can be applied in life.
Looking back, can you think of a situation when you followed some elements of the map making approach? You may have done this when aiming to pass on knowledge as a teacher, coach, mentor, project leader or in another role.
What did you do to create and pass on a map that people could use to navigate the topic successfully? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Imagine that you want to follow some elements of this approach in the future. If appropriate, you may take the following steps. You will, of course, follow these in your own way.
Choosing A Topic For The Map
You may start by choosing the topic for the map. This could involve exploring a subject that you find fascinating or want to understand. It may also involve passing on this knowledge to other people.
You may want to help people to pursue a particular kind of journey. The aim would be to help them to understand the territory and reach their chosen destination successfully.
Imagine that you have chosen to focus on a certain topic. It can be useful to clarify the real results you want to achieve and your plan for making the map.
Different people do this in different ways. One approach involves exploring similar questions to those asked by an author before they do a piece of work. These include the following.
What is the purpose of the piece of work? What are the reasons why I want to produce it? What are the real results I want to achieve by doing the piece of work?
Who is the audience? What is happening in their world? What are the challenges they may face? What are their goals? What can I pass on that will help them to achieve their goals?
What are the key messages I want to get across to people? What is the knowledge I want to share? How can I do this in a way that resonates with people? How can I make the work attractive and accessible?
How can I use my strengths to produce the piece of work? How can I compensate for any weaknesses? How can I encourage myself on the journey when doing the work?
Let’s return to the desired results. What are the things I want people to be saying, thinking and feeling after they have experienced the work? How can I do my best to achieve these results?
Imagine that you have clarified your plan for making the map. It will then be time to move on to the next stage.
Charting The Map
This part often involves three stages. First, collecting information for the map. Second, charting the map. Third, checking the map to ensure it is accurate.
You may start by collecting information in your own way. Much will depend on the kind of map you are making.
Cartographers often visited the actual landscape. They used surveying tools and other methods to produce accurate representations of the territory. Since then photography and other technology has led to producing highly detailed maps.
Writers, educators and people who create maps of knowledge use their own methods for gathering information. Studying their chosen topic, they may build on the existing thinking and also add their own observations. They continue until they are ready to move to the next stage.
You may then begin charting the map. Sometimes this involves providing an accurate description of the data. This will be the case if you are conveying a factual map – such as drawing a physical landscape.
Sometimes it may involve summarising the key headlines plus showing people how they can get more information. This may be the case if you are helping people to understand a particular theory or concept.
Different people use different approaches when, for example, charting a professional, psychological or philosophical theory. The key is to provide people with a map they can use to understand and apply the information.
You will then go on to checking the map. Cartographers continually test their map. They do this in order: a) to check the information is accurate and reliable; b) to check the latest developments as they recognise the map will keep evolving.
Good educators continually test the information they are passing on to people. They also keep checking that the map works. They want to ensure that it is reliable, resilient and will help people to achieve their desired results.
Imagine that you have taken these steps. You may then want to move on to the next stage.
Communicating The Map
Different people choose to communicate the map in different ways. They may convey the information through an atlas, models, books and other media.
You will do this in your own way. When doing so, it can be useful to return to some of the questions we explored earlier. These include the following.
Who is the audience? What are their goals? How can I communicate the map in a way that helps them to reach their goals? How can I provide practical tools that they can use to achieve their picture of success?
Imagine that you want to follow some elements of the map making approach in the future. What may be the situation where you can use this approach? How can you apply it in your own way? What may happen as a result of taking these steps.?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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