It seemed appropriate that the entire team authored this article. After all, it’s about brainstorming! For decades, people have been using brainstorming sessions to come up with creative solutions to problems. These sessions can be for anything from how to renovate a room in a house to properly marketing a company’s brand.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
There are some basic tools that can be helpful for brainstorming sessions to be effective. These are: white board, sketch paper, notebook, pens, pencils, markers, construction paper and most importantly, a clear mind. Depending on the type of problem you are solving, you can even incorporate Legos or other building blocks. Physical items can help with finding the solution.
PARTICIPANTS
Choose how you are going to brainstorm. Is this going to be a group or individual session? Oftentimes, more heads are better than one; however, too many heads can become a mess!
For a group, choose a comfortable setting and a variety of people who are most important or have a vested interest in the project. When we brainstorm at Blu Dove Designs, we have client brainstorm sessions and internal team sessions on a project. Both are helpful in refining the solution.
Individual brainstorming is quiet downtime for deep thought and not worrying about other ideas and opinions at the moment.
WHEN AND WHERE?
It is important to remember you don’t need a big fancy meeting space to initiate a brainstorming session. It can be a group where everyone pulls up their chairs and shouts out ideas while the facilitator jots them down and moves the session along. At the same time, comfort and time are important. It is best to hold a session earlier in the day when everyone is refreshed and alert rather than at 4 p.m. when everyone is drained and their minds are on other things. When you hold a session, make sure the room allows people to get up and move about freely while limiting other outside noises and distractions. Ask that everyone turn their electronic devices on silent to reduce distractions.
HOW TO EXECUTE
You’ve got the tools and the people — now what? In order for the sessions to be powerful, they need to be effective and they need to have results come out of them. Here are some tips for a successful group session.
The most important thing about a “brainstorm” is that it is a flurry of ideas voiced without worry of opinion, ridicule, judgment or decision at that very moment. So, the first step is to have everyone take a moment to breathe and clear their minds. A clear, relaxed mind is an open one. Put aside your task lists and turn off the phones, tablets, bleeps and bloops. This is a time to focus.
Now that everyone has a clear mind, goals need to be set about what is to be accomplished, how much time is allotted, what will be the process for each person sharing ideas and what will happen afterward. Without goals, the session may be derailed and you will have nothing to show for it at the end.
Choose one main person to be the scribe or facilitator and allow everyone to shout out their ideas kind of like popcorn. Using your whiteboard or paper, jot down everything. It doesn’t matter if the ideas are good, bad, ugly or even comical. That’s the power of brainstorming. You can throw them out later, come back to them or combine several together. The idea is to set everyone’s egos and opinions aside and just freely think. If you get stuck, have group participation to keep the flow going. You are trying to open up the possibilities and get creative to solve the problem at hand. Analyzing and judgement should not be part of this stage, as they can immediately shut down the session and cause everyone to overthink.
Throughout the session, encourage participation. Generally, the common goal is to have enough “base” ideas to start with to have a result at the end. By having enough people participate, in theory, you should be able to obtain a wider array of ideas quicker than an individual brainstorming session.
WRAP-UP AND FOLLOW-THROUGH
The most important thing is what happens to the ideas after brainstorming ends. Before the session is over, narrow down your top five to 10 best ideas and decide what will happen next. Options can include breaking into smaller groups to refine the best ideas, reviewing and even researching on your own for an hour and following up with the group. If clients were involved in the session, make sure they have an equal say. This is a great way to get them really excited about their projects.
Blu Dove Designs is a team of creative and advertising professionals with a combined 30+ years of experience. We are able to provide one-on-one time with all of our clients to fully understand their business. We focus on growth with short and long term goals in mind. Come talk to us. We’d love to brainstorm with you whether you’re another professional or business owner.