The brain is made up of tiny nerve cells called neurons, these neurons have tiny branch-like structures that reach out and connect with other neurons. Each place where a neuron connects with another neuron is called a synapse or synaptic connection. The pattern and ways our neurons connect to each other form our neural network. These networks form our ideas, thoughts, and memories.

Think of these neural networks in the same way as the mind maps we looked at earlier. Our brains take in thousands of tiny stimuli every second. In a presentation, the stimuli would normally be images, words, and sounds from the presenter and the group we might be sitting with. Our brains take everything in and connect the dots with neural networks between each piece of stimuli. Where a connection is made, an idea is formed.

In the traditional slide-by-slide approach to presenting, it is more difficult for the brain to make connections. This is generally a downside to the way presentations are put together, that is, it's hard to connect a concept on slide 2 to something on slide 50 an hour later.

As Prezi gives us such freedom to move around the canvas and zoom in and out of different elements, it's very easy for us to present in a way that aids the brain in creating neural networks. This, in turn, leads to our Prezi's messages being remembered for longer and in more detail than by using slides.

In order to explain how Prezi can help build neural networks, what better tool to use than Prezi itself? If you have an Internet connection while you're reading this, you can go to http://prezi.com/vuf5fbirwjke/big-picture-thinking/ and refer to a Prezi explaining this concept. If you don't have an Internet connection, refer to the screenshots we added of the same Prezi.

If you follow the steps explained here when constructing your Prezi, you are bound to deliver a much more powerful message:

This Prezi explains how to help create the neural networks discussed using the BIG picture technique itself.

You can see how at the start we are already zoomed in to one neuron of the brain, and then we slowly move outwards. The previous two images clearly show the connections between everything that we previously saw in the Prezi.

In the final frame of the Prezi, we zoomed out completely to see an image of the brain. This is the BIG picture view for this particular Prezi, as it clearly demonstrates that everything we've been seeing happens inside the human brain.

If done correctly, you should start to see your BIG picture form in the planning stage of your Prezi (step 1 – Planning your Prezi). By using the Mind Mapping techniques explained earlier, you will start to see connections between the different elements of your Prezi. At this stage, you should ask yourself the question "What single image could sum up the links between everything?"

It might be difficult to find the right image, and in some cases, it might need a combination of images together. However, the key messages along the way should all be delivered inside of the BIG picture.

To help you practice finding images that sum up a series of different elements and link them together, have a go at completing the following table. Hopefully, you'll start to get much better at this with time—if you master the three Prezi design steps, of course!