Are You Brainstorming Wrong?
Being stuck in a room trying to think of an idea right before a deadline approaches is awful! But, it’s what most of us end up doing when we brainstorm.
We definitely don’t come up with our best ideas brainstorming this way, because there is little creativity in the process when the pressure is on.
Are you brainstorming wrong? Most likely.
Coming up with great ideas does not have to be uninspiring and contained. Trying a new approach makes it fun and engaging!
Here are 5 ways to make brainstorming better!
1) Diversify
Every single person approaches things differently due to their life experiences and backgrounds. People who are the same age and have had similar life experiences also have similar ideas, and won’t bring many different ideas to the table.
When your team is brainstorming, make everyone’s opinion heard!
If you don’t have much diversity of experience on your team, reach out to people who bring in some new perspective. This could be customers, employees on different teams, or people you reach out to on social media.
2) Don’t Rush
Giving your team a hard deadline puts too much pressure on them. This often has a reverse effect on a team, leading them to feel too much pressure and be unproductive.
Give your team an appropriate amount of time in order to let ideas grow and flourish. Be flexible with your deadlines. It is better to take the time and get ideas right rather than rushing and using the first thing that comes to mind.
3) Use More Visuals
Writing down ideas in a notebook or jotting things on a whiteboard is fine, but it is mediocre when it comes to creativity. While writing down ideas is good, using visual components like video and drawings are a great way to stimulate more idea generation.
This works especially well if people are visual learners and communicators. Some people communicate better by showing a visual depiction of their ideas.
If hand-drawing ideas aren’t ideal, try a digital platform like a tablet, Surface Hub, SMART Board, etc. With Stormboard you can easily share your ideas visually using whiteboard sticky notes, photo sticky notes, and sticky notes integrated with YouTube. Expand the type of technology your team uses!
4) Don’t Just Walk Into It
Teams who intend to have brainstorming sessions will often go into them with no planning and no communication beforehand. While this might be ok if you work best generating ideas on the spot, this way of brainstorming won’t work for everyone.
Plan ahead of time to make sure your entire team is prepped for the brainstorming session. This can be done by sending out the brainstorming material to the team with the material, questions, and topics of discussion through email or messenger, or posting to an online collaboration tool that the team can access before, during, and after the brainstorm session.
5) Divide and Conquer
Maybe a traditional brainstorming session isn’t your cup of tea. This is the case for many teams, especially those who work remotely or come up with their best ideas working alone.
There are so many ways to brainstorm besides sitting in a room as a group. If your team needs to change it up, try a digital collaboration tool so everyone can work the way that they want!
By using digital collaboration tools and adding video conferencing into the mix, teams can still brainstorm! Team members who want to be in the same room can work together, and those working remotely can still be part of the session while having the freedom to brainstorm at their own pace.
Transform the way you brainstorm
Try a better way to brainstorm with your team — sign up for Stormboard today!
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