How to Use Brainstorming to Generate Good Ideas or Solutions

There are occasions in business and in home life where a need arises to come up with a number of ideas for problem solving or to pursue opportunities. A general term for the generation of a large number of ideas in these circumstances is brainstorming. Brainstorming techniques can be successfully applied by individuals, for example, who are writing books, essays, term papers or articles but brainstorming is typically done with groups of people.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Access
• Willingness to Learn

1. DEFINE THE OBJECTIVE OR PROBLEM. What is it that needs to be accomplished or the problem that needs to be solved? Once the goal is clear, then the brainstorming process can help.

2. RECRUIT A TEAM TO HELP. For best results, recruit a team of six to ten people for the idea generation session, which should take from 30 minutes to an hour. Ideally, people would have different occupations or backgrounds so that different perspectives and experiences would be represented.

3. CHOOSE A FACILITATOR. The facilitator or moderator will chair the brainstorming meeting and record the ideas. He or she will also explain the rules and guidelines to participants and arbitrate any disputes. The main job of the facilitator is to keep the idea generation rolling.

4. ADHERE TO THE PROCESS. Brainstorming is a process with its goal being to generate a large number of ideas within a short period of time. It works well when people stimulate each other and the rules are followed. The main rules are that no criticisms or negatives about the ideas offered are allowed, and that every idea, unless vulgar, gets recorded. Participants are encouraged to have fun in the process, to laugh, but not to say anything critical.

5. SELECT AND RECOMMEND. At the end of the idea generation session and a brief break, the participants reconvene to select the five to ten ideas that they feel have the greatest potential to meet the original objective. Some ideas may need to be clarified or built on before they can properly be judged. Once the finalists are selected, criteria are established (cost, ease of implementation, etc.) to select the one idea to be recommended and taken forward to be implemented. Sometimes more than one will be implemented.

6. CREDIT GOES TO THE TEAM. This part can be hard. You personally may have voiced the idea that was ultimately chosen, but the team gets the credit. Everyone knows this beforehand, however, so it’s no surprise. The rationale is to keep personal competition out of the process and that the idea may not have come about had it not been for the process.

7. THE PAYOFFS ARE MULTIPLE. In addition to the solution of the original problem, team building has occurred and faith in a group process has been fostered. Participants have had fun, felt productive, learned from one another and perhaps discovered an increase in their personal confidence. All good stuff!

Tips & Warnings

• If you dig this article, please Digg it.
• Silly or unconventional ideas and behavior are tolerated in the brainstorming process because they can lead to thinking “outside the box,” and to innovation.
• Writers can use this process to help themselves with writing tasks and goals. See the Resources section for a UNC paper on this application of brainstorming.
• Read up on the brainstorming process before deciding to champion it at your workplace.

Resources

• Mind Tools on Brainstorming
• Brainstorming for Writing Papers

[eliptica]

on 2/24/2009 I feel a storm brewing and I think I will write my next article. Thanks for the great article.

[lydiabily]

on 12/16/2008 Excellent article. Brainstorming in a group is a great way to generate innovative ideas.