Brainstorming is a method of searching for new ideas and solutions. The essence of this is that the participants sound as many variants as possible, particularly the most innovative ones. They selected the best ideas or solutions from all of them, which everyone can implement in practice. In this article, a free essay writer will tell you how to run a brainstorming session correctly.
History of the Method
American advertising writer Alex Osborne is believed to have invented the brainstorming technique and was aided in this military experience. During World War II, Osborne served as a van captain. Once, he received a radiogram about a potential danger: the approach of a German submarine. Considering how to fix it, Osborne guessed at a technique used by the brothers from the Middle Ages: in the event of trouble, the entire crew would assemble on deck to come up with their version of the problem line by line.
Osborne did the same: he assembled the crew and asked everyone to suggest their tactics in the event of an attack. However, none of the ideas was used – the German submarine was not interested in the American ship. But Osborne began to develop the theory of brainstorming, which he described in a report in his book “Applied Ouija,” published in 1953.
Main rules for successful brainstorming
To have a practical brainstorming session, you don’t need to repeat Alex Osborne’s steps and assemble your equipment in the correct order when the underwater team of competitors is already closing in on you. It is best to follow the following rules.
1. Previous preparation.
There is no need to surprise the team and announce the brainstorming topic when everyone is already assembled. Give participants less than a few days to prepare: Give them time to brainstorm ideas beforehand.
2. A Productive Environment.
Suppose the room is very cold or hot. In that case, there are not enough comfortable chairs for everyone. There is paper and pen for each participant and a flip chart for the presenter. All participants want to brainstorm, so that these meetings end as quickly as possible. People must have comfortable conditions to work.
3. More people = more ideas
The goal of the brainstorming session is to generate as many ideas as possible, from which everyone can choose the best ones. It is essential to gather more participants: for example, not a department of 3 men, but a team of 10. But not only because of the number of clicks in the brainstorming of those people who do not want to participate.
4. Detailed description of the problem.
Agree on the topic of the brainstorming session in advance, and before the session starts, you should explain the purpose of the meeting and what problem you need to solve. Make sure that all participants understand the task correctly and know what they want.
5. No Limits to Ideas.
An important rule of thumb for a successful brainstorming session is that there are no rules during the brainstorming session. Don’t say, “Only come up with ideas that we can implement with our budget in mind,” and so on. Allow participants to say whatever comes to mind, including cooperation with aliens. Participants cannot criticize each other’s ideas, but can complement them, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel and come up with what has not yet been heard in any form.
6. Record keeping.
Remember everything: exercises, methods and instructions to improve memory.
During the brainstorming session, it is crucial to not only express your ideas but also write them down. Everything, no matter how utterly fantastic and worded the jargon. And it is better to have not only the returning leader, but all the participants, and no one will forget any idea.
7. The ability to add an idea after brainstorming.
The brainstorming session could be over, everyone went into their rooms, sat down on the couch with a mug of beer, and lo and behold it’s happening! Allow participants to share their thoughts later. But don’t drag out the idea generation process, but set a clear deadline of one day to one week.
Zayn Tindall
Zayn currently works as an English teacher at one of the reputed universities in New York. He has even worked as a career counselor for the last 5 years. Zayn loves to spend his spare time reading educational books, novels, and writing educational blogs and articles. Expertise
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Source: vtt.edu.vn