Brainstorming is an excellent technique used as a group activity to generate lots of new ideas and solutions. Brainstorming is highly effective because a lot of worthwhile ideas are sparked which nobody would normally have come up with. The most important rule in brainstorming is not to be critical of anyone’s ideas or contribution, because criticism will shut people up instead of allowing information and ideas to flow freely.

Before inviting (the right) people to a brainstorming session you need to have clear objectives – which should be shared with the brainstorming group. Another very important point is to decide whether a brainstorming session is appropriate. The time and costs spent brainstorming can sometimes be saved by simply implementing a known solution. If you already have several solutions and all you need to do is decide which one to use, you should not be using brainstorming as your chosen decision-making tool because a brainstorming session should be used for generating new ideas and solutions, not for analysis or for decision making.

You may decide to invite your own team or people from your own department to take part in the brainstorming session. Broaden your outlook by inviting people from different departments; teams or from a different organisation to allow different personalities to influence creative thinking in the session. Brainstorming groups often consist of between 3 and 30 people. Larger groups lead to better opportunities for diversity and creativity.

Brainstorming rules

For any brainstorming session to be successful the participants must follow the rules:

Topic

You must be clear about the ideas you want from the session and explain which areas you want to ignore or concentrate on.

Check understanding

Make sure that all participants understand the outcomes you want. Invite questions from the group before starting in order to clarify understanding.

Enough time

It is imperative to have enough time for brainstorming. Never hurry anyone up and don’t cut the time short. It may take a while for people to settle into the brainstorming session and some of the best ideas may come long after you started.

Motivate and encourage wild, exaggerated ideas

A brainstorming session should be a safe place for people to express their ideas, no matter how crazy or far-fetched. Encourage participants to speak their minds and not to withhold in fear of rejection or fear of losing face “because my idea is outrageous.”

Quantity over-rules quality

Quantity is more important than quality. Get as many ideas written down as possible before evaluating its quality or worth.

No suggested outcomes

Do not lead the brainstorming session or suggest any desired outcomes because participants should be allowed to come up with any and all ideas – free of influence.

Use a flipchart or white board

Write down all ideas on a flipchart or white board where everyone can see it. This will encourage participants to build on each other’s ideas. Capture only the essence of an idea – do not describe it in detail because others may come up with brilliant ideas to build on it.

Do not evaluate, judge, criticise or comment

Do not suggest that an idea may not work. Do not comment at all, because if you criticise or evaluate anyone’s contribution, creative thinking will cease and participants will hesitate to contribute.

It is very important to develop a clear and positive outcome for people to feel that their efforts and contribution was worthwhile. When participants see that their efforts have resulted in action and change, they will be motivated to participate again.

By Elsabé Manning

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