Brainstorms are great for harnessing group power to generate lots of ideas, fast. At BG, we know what a huge asset brainstorms are which is why we do A LOT of them. And why we are always looking for new ways to keep them interesting in order to get the most ideas possible.
No one likes being in a brainstorm where there is more silence in the room than ideas. Take this test to see if you are doing a good job of keeping your brainstorms fresh. Give yourself a point for every “yes” answer.
Keep a jar of thought provoking questions in the room while you're brainstorming. When the ideas start to slow, read one to get the momentum going again.
1. Do you prep your audience?
Just like you prepare for meetings, better brainstorms require preparation, too. Give your brainstormers a brief run down of the topic you’ll be idea-ting on at least two days before you meet. That way they have time to learn about the topic and start doing their own brainstorming before they even get to the meeting.
2. Do you get out of the office?
It’s hard to think of great ideas when you’re not inspired by your surroundings. To think different, go to a different place that’s not the office. Brainstorming ideas for a hospital? Go to the hospital. Grab a bite in their café and do your brainstorm over lunch surrounded by doctors and nurses. There’s no better way to brainstorm than immersing yourself in the subject matter you’re thinking about.
3. Is everyone participating?
Every single person in your brainstorm is responsible for contributing ideas. In brainstorms the old adage is true, “no idea is a bad idea.” That means everyone should feel comfortable sharing and no one in the room should be nay-saying any ideas. Period.
3. Are you brainstorming different times of day?
Not everyone (ahem) is a morning person. Some people have more energy in the afternoon and some people are groggy after lunch. Try holding brainstorms at different times of day to see when your team is the most productive.
4. Are you asking questions?
During most brainstorms there are highs—when a lot of ideas are being generated—and lows—when there is virtual silence. To keep the momentum going, you need to stimulate your audience to approach the project from a different angle. Asking questions like, “What could we do if money wasn’t an obstacle?” or “What could we do that would get us in trouble?” are sometimes just the jump-starts you need to get the momentum in the room flowing again.
5. Are you using visuals?
Sometimes words aren’t the best way to capture ideas. Try drawing pictures of your idea instead of writing it out—this is especially good for a project that’s highly visual, like a logo design brainstorm. And don’t just write the ideas you brainstorm down in a notebook, put them up where everyone can see them. Seeing them visually can help stimulate more ideas.
6. Are you using different brainstorm methods?
Writing words down on a white board shouldn’t be the only way you brainstorm. This summer at the HOW Design Conference, designer and speaker David Sherwin gave some great suggestions on other ways to brainstorm effectively. Here are a few of his suggestions:
- Role play. Act out how a service, product or event would influence consumer behavior.
- Future-casting. Remove all reality constraints, working backward from what’s impossible to possible.
- Idea inversion. Take an idea and envision the exact opposite.
- Brute think. Force connections between your area of focus and a totally unrelated word. Pick something random, like the “ice” and force all of your ideas to have something to do with that word. You’ll be surprised at the very creative ideas you come up with.
How’d you do?
6 – 4 points: Congratulations, you are a brainstorming rockstar.
4 – 2 points: You could use a brush-up but you are well on your way to brainstorming brilliance.
2 – 0 points: Never fear, there’s always time to improve. Follow the tips above and you will soon be on your way to idea generating greatness.
