How to hold the perfect brainstorming session?
Photo by stevoarnold
Imagine the kind of ideas you’d come up with if you knew how to brainstorm the right way. Instead of holding, what turns out to be another fruitless meeting. We all brainstorm at some point in our lives. But it doesn’t always produce the ideas that make us go “wow!”
In my previous post Why “Idea Generating” Meetings Don’t Work? I talked about what typically goes wrong in these so-called brainstorming sessions. In this post though. I’ll tell you how to hold the perfect brainstorming session.
1. Warm up before the main event
Before you and your team start, a good warm up is in order. Play some word games or visit a location related to your brainstorm for inspiration.
This is great for people who haven’t worked together before. As it allows them to get comfortable with each other beforehand. Likewise, it’s perfect for freeing your mind and getting it warmed up for the main event.
2. State the problem
Begin with a statement of the problem. You can’t initiate the brainstorm without a direction into where you’re heading. Not having a clear focus is like driving without a destination. And in the end you’ll arrive at a place where you don’t want to be.
3. Don’t criticize
In the early stages go for quantity over quality. You’ll have time to filter them out later on. At this point you shouldn’t criticize or debate other ideas. Keep the momentum moving forward with ideas.
4. Go for 100 ideas
Okay, you don’t necessarily have to go for 100 ideas. But to keep motivation up, set a target for the number of ideas you want to have within an hour. Adopt the Apollo 13 mentality, you have 1 hour to come up with as many ideas as you can to save the shuttle crew.
5. Write ideas down
This sounds obvious, doesn’t it? However instead of writing them down in your little notebook. Cover the whole table with paper, so everyone can see and write their own ideas down. White boards & post-its are also good alternatives.
6. Build on ideas
Build upon your existing ideas. And when the discussion comes to a standstill. Shift the focus to another idea and repeat the process. This is designed to keep every one’s energy levels up. And to not to demoralize everyone from being stuck on one idea.
7. Be visual
Don’t let your artistic abilities hold you back! Drawing something out in a rough sketch or molding something out of clay can be more descriptive than putting it into words. Don’t be afraid of rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty.
Now you know what to do and you’re all set to hold the perfect brainstorming session. Leave a comment and let us know what sort of crazy ideas your team comes up with.
