Seven Tips For Productive Brainstorming

Brainstorming is about employees coming together as a group to generate a great many out-of-the-box ideas, and the best way to do this is to be uncritical and nonjudgmental through the process as designs are made. Productive brainstorming sessions can be hard to pull off without a hitch. However, with the right set of tips, you can.

When employees get together to develop ideas, everyone hears them. However, there’s a problem with sharing. When employees hear about ideas other colleagues have, it affects their thought process. What this means is, not long into the session their plans may begin to converge and sound alike. There is a reasonable way to overcome this challenge. It’s possible for participants to allow themselves time before brainstorming so they can make clear to themselves in what direction they wish to go. Then, when they begin, everyone comes in with a clear idea of which direction they want to head.

Studies have shown that brainstorming sessions tend to- be-far-more effective when they are attended by employees who know each other — or at-the-least familiar with-each-other. The problem is when employees are in a brainstorming session and they’re unfamiliar with-one-another they tend-to-be uncomfortable and hesitant about making their ideas known as-opposed-to the employees they-do-know. Leaders should do their best to ensure employees are familiar with all participants because this leads to higher comfort levels for the participants, therefore, leading to a more effective session.

When employees sit around a table trying to brainstorm answers to a particular problem or challenge, they sometimes hit a dead end. No matter how hard they work, they only come up with uninspired ideas. When this happens, there’s a way around it — rather than brainstorm answers to the question — you brainstorm questions that redefine the problem in more precise and explicit terms. By doing this it will reinvigorate the group. Moreover, this not only works by helping the group feel that they are back in control with something definite to offer but also having the question redefined helps the mind refocus and will help steer the session in directions that would have been hard-to-find otherwise.

Brainstorming allows employees to bring up new ideas without fear of criticism. There’s no time in the brainstorming session to flesh out-the-ideas created. At the end of the meeting, you are likely to have a long list of ideas, but little clarity on what those ideas stand for. This is why brainstorming sessions should be followed by convergence sessions where the concepts previously discussed are then carefully considered, and worked on from there.

Studies have shown that in brainstorming sessions, things start with possible but unoriginal ideas. As time goes on, ideas become less feasible but more original. It’s important to keep this in mind when planning a brainstorming session. If you want innovative ideas, you need to prepare for longer sessions. However, if you’re looking for designs that are feasible, you should keep your sessions short.

As mentioned earlier, brainstorming is for voicing one's ideas without fear of criticism. Unfortunately, many employees are unable to speak without hesitation for the fear-of-judgment. Studies reveal there is a way to overcome the problem; take brainstorming sessions outside, perhaps, to a restaurant. The change of scenery by going outside of the work environment usually brings enough to make employees forget about their reticence.

Yes, it does help to have familiar faces in the group. However, there is such-a-thing-as-getting too comfortable. One tip for keeping your group on its toes is to bring in a couple of employees that are not on your team. Not only will this help reinvigorate the group, but it also helps to bring in a new perspective, and also act-as-a-catalyst, if-you-will.

The Takeaway is, it’s fine to experiment with your brainstorming sessions as-long-as-you are keen on the basics. When you make sure everyone is comfortable and kept inspired, there’s little that will prevent the meeting from succeeding and getting the desired result for the task-at-hand and turning-it-into the task-in-hand.

Thank you for taking the time to view the article.

Steven A.Walter

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