Brainstorming Reloaded

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If you are involved in the creative or communications world you've probably been involved in brainstorming sessions to generate ideas/fresh angles on ideas.

Here is a fresh take on getting the best out of brainstorming. It's a great article from PSYBlog called 'Brainstorming Reloaded'. My main takeaways were:

  1. Don't expect great results from ideas generated in the room. (I've experienced this)
  2. The best results are when people come to the brainstorm with ideas.
  3. People who have participated in the creative stage are likely to be more motivated to carry out the group's decision.
  4. The brainstorming groups natural talent is the evaluation of ideas rather than the generation.

Killer soundbite summary: Brainstorming groups aren't where ideas are born, but where they come to sink or swim.

What has worked/hasn't worked for you when you have brainstormed? Do you agree or disagree with this fresh angle about brainstorming?

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2 comments

  1. I especially like #2. I’ve been in too many brainstorming sessions where none of us came with ideas and it doesn’t help to get things going. I definitely plan on implementing this idea next time ;).

  2. In my experience the key to good brainstorming is preparation.
    Definitely there are different types of brainstorming sessions, and the outcome of a brainstorming workshop is far from guaranteed.
    The key things for a good brainstorming workshop, from my experience, are:
    1. Firstly understanding of the two levels at which activity occurs in a brainstorming workshop, which are:
    – Process level, and
    – Content level
    2. Good facilitation.
    A person to lead the process and challenge/document/review the content. Usually not a direct stakeholder in the outcome.
    3. Pre-planned exercises/sessions within the workshop that break the session in to chunks, using specific techniques for each session. Exercises are loosely aimed at encouraging the generation of pre-agreed outcomes from the session, such as:
    – A list of ideas on a particular topic
    – A set of deliverables definitions for a project plan
    – Ideas for a company logo or tagline
    – A group-crafted mission statement for a company or project
    – Principals or values to be used by a project team
    4. High quality inputs – what I call brain-food, which are designed to stimulate thinking and interaction.
    Inputs can be designed for the session as a whole or for one or more of the activities.
    5. Linked exercises within a workshop or a workshop linked to a following workshop.
    Most powerfully brainstorming exercises can be linked from one to the next using outputs to fuel the next topic.
    This structure might seem at face-value to be counter to the idea that brainstorming is free-format, but a total “blank page” as a starting point for brainstorming is almost guaranteed to fizzle.

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