Brainstorming.mobi 
How to do Traditional Brainstorming
First we will explain how to be a participant in a brainstorming session
and then we will give you pointers on how to organize one yourself.
Many people find it easier to be a participant first, before they run a session,
but if you and your colleagues approach learning with a flexible attitude
then you should have no problems in running one straight off (but perhaps
you should practise on a non-vital topic first to gain experience).
Brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts
to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously
by its members" - Alex Osborn.
How to brainstorm in a medium-sized group
Gather a group of between four and fifteen people together in one room. Have
a central person to coordinate the proceedings, introduce the purpose of the
brainstorming session and to outline the rules. This person should also ensure
the rules are followed and should actively encourage the participants. This
person is the facilitator (facilitate = to make easier). (Go to www.futurecreation.co.uk
to find an external facilitator)
Ideally you will then have a brief warm-up on a totally unrelated and fun
topic. This will get your creative juices going and help establish a less
restrictive mood. You should only start the main topic when the right mood
is established.
With the purpose and topic established, everyone in the group shouts out their
ideas and they are all written down so that they can be analyzed later. The
most common method of recording the ideas is on flipcharts.
(large pads of paper) but it's fine to use a blackboard, overhead projector
transparencies, a computer or individual pads of paper. A secretary or dedicated
writer can be useful and for larger groups you may need two or three to ensure
all ideas are captured.
You should all follow the standard brainstorming rules:
- Postpone and withhold your judgment of ideas
- Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas
- Quantity counts at this stage, not quality
- Build on the ideas put forward by others
- Every person and every idea has equal worth
(Click here for more details on
these rules.)
It is essential that you encourage wild ideas from other people and do not
criticize them. Not only does it reduce inhibitions in others but it also
reduces your inhibitions because you can only put forward your own
alternative ideas in a receptive environment.
You should record your ideas, however "irrelevant" or "silly"
they seem to be. Your initial idea may not work but it may spark off a valid
idea in someone else.
Your role as a participant is twofold:
- To suggest ideas which will work as solutions
- To suggest ideas which will stimulate solutions in others
You will find that the brainstorming session will go through phases of very rapid idea generation, and then through slow awkward times when no ideas are being created. This slow time is when you should return to the ideas which have already been generated and build on them. Or you can make use of the Advanced Brainstorming techniques and online brainstorming software.
Your brainstorming session can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours depending on the experience of the participants and the nature of the problem to be solved. However the time should be split up into approximately 5- to 15-minute sections in order to keep people fresh. There should be short breaks for refreshments, relaxation, encouragement, congratulations and gratitude. People often use the breaks to do their own thinking and reflection. The breaks should not be strictly enforced and should be determined by the flow of the group. The freedom to stop and start is important as it relaxes any pressures on the group to perform.
You should now know the basics of what happens in a brainstorming session. It is a group of people who free themselves from social inhibitions to generate as many ideas as possible so that original solutions are free to surface. Your role is to say whatever ideas you think of, whether they seem to be relevant or not. You won't be criticized because that's what you are supposed to be doing.