How to Create a Mind Map in Microsoft Word

Quick Tips

• It’s easy to understand how to create a mind map in Microsoft Word once you get to grips with the app’s “Shapes.”
• Always set up your document first, and draw shapes after.
• You can tweak the size, color, and even font used in your shapes once you’ve laid them in your mind map.

Mind maps are incredibly useful whenever you need to remember information because they format the info in a visual style. You see links between different aspects of what you’re trying to learn, essentially getting a brainstormed summary of the key aspects of your document. But you can’t use them in Microsoft Word.

Or can you?

We’re going to show you how to create a mind map in Word that’s just as visually alluring as any you’d get from a specific mapping software.

Step 1 – Setting Up Your Document

Making sure the document is ready for your mind-mapping exploits is key – an unformatted document only creates more work later. Open a “Blank Document” in Word and do the following

Change to Landscape

Step 1: Click “Layout” in the Word ribbon and click the “Orientation” symbol.

Step 2: Select “Landscape” from the options and you should see the blank page change orientation so it’s wider.

Get Rid of Margins

Step 1: Again, you’re using the Word ribbon, only this time hit “Layout,” followed by “Margins.”

Step 2: Select “Narrow” from the options and you’ll now be able to use almost all of your blank document.

Sort Out the Minor Stuff

Once you have your blank document set up, enter a title for your mind map at the top of the page. We recommend center-aligning that title so it looks nice on the page. Go to “Home” in the Word Ribbon and hit the center align button.

Step 2 – Create Your Shapes

A good mind map has three distinct shapes – the “Central Idea,” Topics,” and Subtopics” shapes. Each has a visual purpose, allowing you to understand the ideas inside the mind map based on checking the shapes.

All you need to do is choose from the shapes Word already provides.

Step 1: Head to the “Insert” tab on the Word Ribbon and click “Shapes.”

Step 2: Choose whichever shape you want to represent your “Central Idea” from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: With the shape-drawing cursor that appears, click, hold, and drag to place your “Central Idea” shape into your document. You can adjust that shape’s size using the toggles around the shape once it’s placed in the document, as well as move it around the screen for better positioning.

Step 4: Right-click your new shape and select “Add Text.” You should see the text cursor appear inside the shape, so type your central idea.

Step 5: Repeat Steps 1 through 4, choosing a different shape each time to represent a “Topic” and a “Subtopic.

Step 3 – Connecting the Dots

There’s not much left to do other than connect the various shapes in your mind map.

Step 1: Select the “Insert” tab of the Word ribbon and click the “Shapes” option.

Step 2: Select the “Line” shape from the options. It’s usually near the top of the many choices Word offers.

Step 3: Use the line drawing tool to connect your “Central Idea” shape to your “Topic” shape.

Step 4: Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to connect all of your shapes. You’ll need lines from your “Central Idea” to all of your “Topic” shapes, and lines from each “Topic” to the “Subtopic” shapes relevant to that “Topic.”