Brainstorming is the foundation of creativity, whether it’s doing it by yourself, with your team, or with your clients. From research to putting ideas together, let’s admit it, brainstorming can be exhausting, but the necessity never dies. Every brainstorming session having a successful outcome is a myth and often creators feel frustrated when even after hours of ideating no good ideas come their way. What we must admit is that failed brainstorming sessions are okay! Traditional brainstorming ways can get unproductive and uninspiring, leading to the same ideas being shared repeatedly. If you want to amplify the way you brainstorm, it's time to try some innovative techniques and solutions.
Embrace Divergent Thinking
One of the biggest challenges in brainstorming is that creators tend to think too narrowly. Divergent thinking encourages participants to come up with as many ideas as possible, without any judgement. This technique can lead to more innovative and creative solutions. Encourage your team to think outside and even inside the box, as necessary, and not be afraid to share their wildest ideas.
Use Visual Aids
Visual aids can be a powerful tool for brainstorming. They can help stimulate creativity, aid in understanding complex ideas, and encourage participation. Consider using tools like mind maps, flowcharts, and whiteboards to help your team visualize ideas and collaborate more effectively.
Bring in Outside Perspectives
Sometimes, you need an outside perspective to shake up your brainstorming sessions. Invite experts from other fields, customers, stakeholders, or even the most unusual team member to participate in your brainstorming sessions. This can provide new insights and fresh perspectives that can help you generate more innovative ideas.
Play Games
Gamification can be a great way to inject some fun and energy into your brainstorming sessions. Games like word association, reverse brainstorming, or random word generator can stimulate creativity and encourage participation. They can also help you break free from traditional thinking patterns and generate more unique ideas.
Set Clear Objectives
To make your brainstorming sessions more productive, it's essential to have clear objectives. Before your session, define the problem or opportunity you're trying to solve, and set specific goals for the session. This will help keep your team focused and aligned on the task at hand.
Don’t let unproductive brainstorming results pull down your morale. Stay open to creative ideas coming to you from the most unexpected sources and in the most unusual ways. Mix up the aforementioned techniques to not just amplify but also to make brainstorming sessions more fun and enjoyable.
Psst! This blog was made with 💛, lots of teamwork and edited by a human with some help from Generative AI. We’re not ones to steal credit. #PuttingItOutThere