How to Brainstorm Effectively: Basics You Should Know

It often happens that there is a problem, but no ideas. In such cases, brainstorming always helps. What is this tool and what methods does it have?

Table of Contents

What Is Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a method in which a group of people come up with different ideas to solve a problem. If you go back in history, this format was invented by copywriter Alex Osborne back in 1939. His agency had certain problems at that time. And Alex looked for solutions through the generation of many ideas from his colleagues. He was sure that every specialist has two sides: a child and a critic. And it was the child who could come up with these unconventional options. And, in Alex’s opinion, in order to do this you had to stifle critical thinking in yourself.

Stages of Brainstorming

Set a Clear Goal

Identify the problem or topic on which you want to generate ideas. This is an important step in an effective brainstorming session. It ensures that all participants understand what they are trying to achieve.

To do this:

Be specific. Be clear about what you want to achieve in the brainstorming session. What problem do you want everyone to solve: For example, release a new promising promotion for Online Casino in New Zealand members or come up with ideas for a video about the company for the anniversary.
Set a time frame. Determine a timeframe for the session and a deadline for delivering the results.

Gathering and Issuing Ideas

At this stage, each participant gathers ideas for the task at hand. Everyone is included in the list without exception.

Analyzing and Selecting the Best Options

Then either the supervisors or everyone evaluates what they have gathered during the session. You select the most suitable ideas and write down how you will implement them, who is responsible and in what time frame the tasks should be completed.

3 Tips for Brainstorming

Assemble a Diverse Group

Encourage a diversity of perspectives and experiences to stimulate creative thinking. If you have a company, bring in people from different departments, functions, and levels of the organization. Invite experts who can bring specialized knowledge and skills as well.

Encourage All Ideas

The main rule of brainstorming is not to judge or reject any ideas. What you can do to do this:

Create an environment in which participants feel comfortable and think outside the box.
Emphasize quantity over quality. Have participants come up with as many ideas as possible, rather than focusing on the quality of each one.
Use visualization and role-playing. For example, record everything on a marker board, put it straight into documents or a spreadsheet in the computer, use an idea matrix. For this purpose, you can allocate a separate person who will write down all the ideas.
Assist the participants. Ask questions to help clarify ideas and generate new solutions.

Don’t Interrupt the Brainstorming Session

Interruptions in the session can interfere with creative thinking, so it’s important to create a focused and uninterrupted environment. So schedule the brainstorming session at a time when participants are less likely to be interrupted by other tasks or responsibilities. And be sure to ask participants to turn off their phones and laptops so they are not distracted.

4 Brainstorming Techniques

Well, what’s a brainstorming session without using a variety of methods that can help. Here’s a look at some of the most popular.

The first brainstorming method is “Writing” or “Brainstorming.” What’s the point: you have to take several pieces of paper. Each participant writes one sentence at the beginning and passes the piece of paper around. The second person completes the idea with a solution. The third person makes corrections. So you get several pieces of paper with different solutions.

The second can be called “Quick Ideas”. What is the point: for a certain time, participants must write down on paper as many ideas as possible, even unrealistic and very abstract. Perhaps they have their own salt and can also be used.

The third uncomplicated method is “On behalf of the other”. In short: You ask the question, “How would a famous person/your real client/fictitious character solve such and such an issue? For example, what site would hockey player Alexander Ovechkin like? Next, the participants come up with different ideas. Here, of course, it’s important that this character be very similar to your target audience, for whom you’re doing everything.

The fourth method is called “635”. The idea is that there are six people in the session. Each person is given a piece of paper. In five minutes, the person has to write down three ideas. Then he passes the sheet to another, and the latter writes out the options in detail. Each participant must eventually read all the ideas and add their own details. You should have a total of 18 painted ideas.