5 Techniques that Help to Be Successful During a Brainstorming Session
Brainstorming activities help teams to communicate, solve different business issues and create brilliant product ideas.
A curious set of options for effective brainstorming was proposed in the May article by Wrike.
They shared interesting statistics about brainstorming. According to it, only a few people do 60-75% of the talking. This can often prevent fresh ideas from coming to light.
How to make a brainstorming session effective? He’re 5 most interesting techniques from the article’s list of 7 that will definitely help:
Brain writing
The technique helps to separate idea generation from the discussion.
A team leader shares the topic with the team and team members individually write down their ideas. It gives everyone more time to think over their ideas. Individual brainstorming helps to generate concepts that may not surface in a larger setting.
Figuring storming
This technique is about the different perspectives that team members can apply. Let them think that they are famous celebrities and try to imagine together how they might handle specific situations.
Putting yourself in new shoes can give the team a different perspective, helping them see the possibilities from fresh ideas. When you brainstorm questions that revolve around the possible actions of third parties, you free up ideas that aren’t limited to your participants.
Brainstorming online
Remote teams are becoming more popular. Helpful collaboration tools make working remotely easy.
Brainstorming by emails does not look appropriate. Nowadays you may find many special brainstorming tools that help make online brainstorming more of a visual and collaborative experience.
Round-Robin brainstorming
This is about a circle-concept. Once the agenda is shared, go around the circle one-by-one and have each person offer an idea until everyone has had a turn.
A facilitator records all ideas so they can be discussed once the sharing is over. It allows everyone to pitch in and contribute.
Stepladder technique
The method encourages every team member to contribute individually before being influenced by everyone else.
The brainstorming begins with the facilitator sharing the topic with the team. Then everyone leaves the room except 2 members. They will then discuss the topic and their ideas. Then the additional member is added to the group. He/she will contribute the new ideas before the other 2 discuss theirs. The cycle should be repeated. The technique incorporates both an individual and a group participation aspect.