Brainstorming Techniques

A brainstorming session brings together groups of people with varied backgrounds and experience. The purpose of a brainstorming session is to create a mass of ideas. When a brainstorming session is held with a diverse group of members, there will be diverse ideas as well.

Plan a session in an area that is quiet and where the team members will not be interrupted. The team leader should place the flip chart where all team members can see it. Make sure the room is comfortable where team members can relax and let the creative process flow easily. A brainstorming session needs to have a specific problem to solve. The team leader should supply any supportive information to assist the team members with creating ideas.

Team leaders must guide the conversation of the team. The leader must be skilled in listening, have the right personality, have sharp awareness skills and know how to help people with their ideas. The leader is the only one who writes on the flip charts.

When a team leader is planning a brainstorming session, they should contact every member of the team giving them a brief idea of what the topic of the meeting is. When contacting members a team leader should choose as wide a range as people as possible. For example, people with different backgrounds from within the company. A team leader should not invite management to be with executives, as this will cause a conflict of ideas.

The team leader has to establish brainstorming rules before a brainstorming session. The rules should include but not be limited to, not to criticize other's ideas, any idea is acceptable, it is the quantity of ideas not the quality and consider all ideas presented and build on them.

Any session should last no longer than 40 minutes. This should be all the time it should take to produce creative ideas. If the team leader does not have enough ideas they should inform each team member there will be another brainstorming session.

Killer phrases should be eliminated. The team leader should inform all team members before the brainstorming session starts that using killer phrases is breaking the brainstorming ground rules.

The team leaders should break a large group of team members into smaller groups. This makes the team members more comfortable and relaxed when working within a small group of members.

Part of a team leader's responsibility is to keep the conversation on track. Side conversations about ideas should not be accepted.

If the team is starting to slow down on present ideas, the team leader should implement brainstorming techniques to re energize the group, like rereading ideas to build on them. Alternatively, the team leader should present their ideas to motivate the team.

The brainstorming session continues even after the session is over. The team leader should provide all team members with an overview of the brainstorming session. The overview should include a section on all ideas presented and for each team member to choose the best one. The team member should also provide a reason why the idea they chose is a good idea. A deadline should be given to have the overview returned to the team leader.