This document discusses various techniques for effective brainstorming. It begins by explaining traditional brainstorming where a group generates ideas without criticism. It then describes several advanced techniques like speed storming, brain writing, and reverse brainstorming. These techniques are said to produce more original ideas more efficiently than traditional methods. The document also lists benefits of brainstorming for both individuals and groups, as well as potential risks if not done properly. Overall, it provides an overview of brainstorming and several structured methods to enhance the process.

1. Prepared By:
GUNJAN SHARMA
Assistant Professor
Pragati College, Raipur.

2. Brainstorming can either be
carried out individually or
in groups. Brainstorming
independently tends to
produce a wider range of
ideas than group
brainstorming as individuals
are free to explore ideas in
their own time without any
fear of criticism. On the
other hand, groups tend to
develop the ideas
more effectively due to the
wider range of diversity.
Brainstorming

3. WHAT IS BRAINSTORMING?
Brainstorming is an activity that helps your organization generate
more innovative ideas. Brainstorming is one of many methods of
ideation—the process of coming up with new ideas—and it occurs
during the divergent phase of the creative process. Brainstorming
helps you generate a large number of ideas so that you can produce
different options for solving your challenge.
Brainstorming is a situation where a group of people meet to
generate new ideas and solutions around a specific domain of
interest by removing inhibitions. People are able to think more
freely and they suggest as many spontaneous new ideas as possible.

6. 7 Techniques for More Effective Brainstorming
1. Brain Writing
The general principle of this technique is to separate idea generation from
discussion.
The team leader shares the topic with the team, and team members
individually write down their ideas. This helps eliminate the anchoring bias
and encourages everyone on the team to share their own ideas. It also gives
everyone more time to think over their ideas, which is especially helpful for
your introverted participants. This brainstorming technique works best for
teams who seem to be greatly influenced by the first ideas presented during
a meeting.
When your team is brainstorming ideas individually, away from distraction
and public opinion, you generate concepts that may not naturally surface in
a larger setting. Individual brainstorming techniques like this will often
give you more unique ideas than when the group comes up with topic ideas
together.

7. 2. Figuring Storming
Ever consider how someone else might handle the situation? Or what they
might say about a particular topic? With figuring storming , you aim to do
just that.
Think about how someone like your boss, a famous celebrity, or even the
president of the United States might handle the situation. Putting yourself in
new shoes can give the team a different perspective, helping them see the
possibilities from fresh ideas. This technique works best for teams who find
them coming across the same ideas for repetitive projects.
Try the simple question:
What would Abraham Lincoln do?
When you brainstorm questions that revolve around the possible actions of a
third party, you free up ideas that aren't limited to your participants. It's one
of those exercises for teams that give everyone a different viewpoint.

8. 3. Online Brainstorming (Brain-netting)
Virtual terms are becoming more and more common across all industries.
The evolution of email and collaboration tools makes working remotely
the norm in some organizations. But what happens when the team needs
to come together to brainstorm?
Sure, ideas can be tossed back and forth through email, but then it
becomes difficult to archive those ideas for future reference.
There are also a ton of great brainstorming tools that help make online
brainstorming more of a visual and collaborative experience. One
brainstorming exercise for groups involves using an online mind-
mapping tool to answer very specific questions or generate ideas
tangential to the main problem. What other ideas surround this concept?
Map these examples out, visually.

9. 4. Rapid Ideation
Sometimes, time limitations can help generate ideas quickly, because you
don't have time to filter or over think each one.
With this technique, the team leader provides context beforehand with
information or questions on the topic, budget, deadline, etc. Then, a time
limit is set for individuals to write down as many thoughts or ideas around
the topic as possible, using any mediums available. Participants should not
worry about filtering their ideas.
The great part about this style of brainstorming is that it's completely
customizable to meet the needs of the team and project. Several different
mediums can be used, such as pen and paper, white boards, Post-Its...
anything to get the creative juices flowing. The time limit for your rapid
ideation session can be anywhere from five to 45 minutes, depending on the
complexity of your topic. This technique is good for teams who tend to get
sidetracked, teams who hate meetings, or for placing a time limit on
brainstorming sessions that frequently last longer than expected.

10. 5. Round Robin Brainstorming
Teams form a circle to kick off this method. Once the topic is shared, go
around the circle one-by-one and have each person offer an idea until
everyone has had a turn.
Simultaneously, a facilitator records all ideas so they can be discussed once
the sharing is over. It's very important to not evaluate any ideas until everyone
has the opportunity to share. This technique is good when some of your team
members have a tendency to stay quiet throughout meetings.
When leading a session, the round robin method of brainstorming allows
everyone to pitch in and contribute. Just make sure to treat each idea with
equal weight. And try to discourage people from saying "X already mentioned
my idea." If this does happen, say you'll return to them at the end so they have
time to think of something new.

11. 6. Star bursting
No, it has nothing to do with the candy.
This form of brainstorming focuses on forming questions rather than answers.
Star bursting challenges the team to come up with as many questions as they
can about your topic.
An easy way to begin a session like this would be to start listing questions
that deal with the who, what, where, when, and why. This style assures that
all aspects of the project are addressed before any work goes into executing
it. It's a good technique for teams who tend to overlook certain aspects of a
project and end up rushing to get things done last minute.
Thinking up some good brainstorming questions has the added benefit of
giving you an instant backlog of ideas for web content: In case you need a
FAQ section for your website or product, simply answer the generated
questions.

12. 7. Stepladder Technique
Developed in 1992, this style of brainstorming encourages every member in the team
to contribute individually before being influenced by everyone else.
The session begins with the facilitator sharing the topic or question with the whole
team. Once the topic is shared, everyone leaves the room except two members of the
team. These two members will then discuss the topic and their ideas. Then, one
additional member is added to the group. This new member will contribute his or her
ideas BEFORE the other two discuss theirs.
Repeat this cycle until everyone from the original group is in the room. This technique
prevents groupthink in teams where one or two members hold sway over everyone
else. This also helps encourage the shy folks in the group to share their ideas without
feeling intimidated by a room full of people.
The stepladder technique is actually one of the more mature brainstorming strategies
as it incorporates both an individual and a group participation aspect. This technique is
useful for medium-sized groups of anywhere from five to 15 people. Once the group
gets larger, however, it takes much longer and may become unwieldy.

16. Traditional Brainstorming
 The normal view of brainstorming is
where a group of people sit in a room
and shout out ideas as they occur to
them. They are told to lose their
inhibitions and that no ideas will be
Judged so that people are tree to shout
out any ideas at all without feeling
uncomfortable. People should build on
the ideas called out by other
participants. The purpose of this is to
gain as many ideas as possible for later
analysis. Out of the many ideas
suggested there will be some of great
value, Because of the free-thinking
environment, the session will help
promote radical new ideas which break
free from normal ways of thinking,
Advanced Brainstorming
 The model we propose is an extension of
the traditional brainstorming scenario
and makes the whole process easier and
more effective. Advanced brainstorming
builds on the current methods of
brainstorming to produce more original
ideas in more efficient way. Specialized
techniques, better processes and better
awareness, combined with new
technologies, make traditional
brainstorming a less frustrating
process. Most of the problems
associated with traditional
brainstorming disappear as a more
effective process is used.

17. 1. Speed storming
Aim: Depth
Great for: Small groups; People who have a small number of “barnstormers”
and small window of time with which to work.
How it Works: Give six people the prompt and a piece of paper. Those six
people each generate three ideas within five minutes —the 6-3-5 speed
storming. Then each person passes their three pieces of paper to the right and
the second person then builds on the initial person’s ideas for the next five
minutes. Continue for four more rounds (for a total of six rounds) until you all
have spent 30 minutes fleshing out 18 ideas.
Get more ideas by increasing the number of ideas each person has to generate.
For instance, implement the 6-5-5 method (6 people each generate 5 ideas in 5
minutes). That way you can get 30 ideas in 30 minutes! Also, writing down
ideas allows everyone to contribute, not just the person who’s very vocal and
doesn’t mind sharing ideas openly in verbal brainstorming sessions.

18. 2. Brain Writing
Aim: Breadth
Great for: Small groups; People who need a large quantity of ideas in
a short amount of time.
How it Works: To start a session of brain writing, give six people
pieces of paper, give them the prompt and ask them to jot down as
many ideas on sticky notes as possible within five minutes. Then each
person passes his/her ideas to the next person. Within the next five
minutes, the next person reads the original suggestions and generates
three additional ideas. After six rounds (30 minutes), the group will
have generated 108 ideas.
If you have more time, go a step further and read the ideas aloud. Place
the sticky notes on a wall or board, and group like ideas together. As a
group, try to vote on the top categories or ideas to pursue.

19. 3. Reverse Brainstorming or Reverse Thinking
Aim: Depth
Great for: Small or large groups; People who find it difficult to create ideas or
identify solutions to a problem directly, or people who already have an asset but
want to optimize it.
How it Works: Reserve brainstorming find ways to prevent what you are trying
to achieve. Then you reverse those actions to actually help you solve the problem.
First, identify the problem. Then, reverse the problem. For example, if you’re
trying to create an awesome piece of branded content to increase conversions and
brand recognition, you might ask: “How can we get 1 million hits on this
content?” But rephrase the question to: “How can we make sure no one engages
with this content?” If you already have a piece of content and want to optimize it,
then ask: “How can I make this asset worse?”
Brainstorm the reverse problem and generate ideas. Don’t reject anything at this
stage. Now, reverse those ideas into solutions for the original problem.

20. 4. Content Brainstorming Key
Aim: Depth
Great for: Small or large groups; Facilitators and brainstorm
participants who thrive on structure.
How it Works: The content brainstorming key from Hub Spot is a
visual used to frame how one thinks. The key is a spreadsheet that
defines the topic, the audience, the content structure (i.e. list, how-to,
Q&A, etc.) and the content medium or format (i.e. blog post, graphic,
video). Using the four criteria, the “brainstormers” write down as
many headlines as possible. Then you will have a clear record of the
prompt and the content suggestions. Change the criteria to get even
more ideas.

21. 5. Focus Group
Aim: Breadth
Great for: Small groups; People looking to target a specific
demographic or subset.
How it Works: This may seem like a no-brainer technique, but
some companies and agencies sometimes forget that they can find a
lot of material within their building. If you have a project in which
you’re trying to reach moms, college students or cooking
enthusiasts, then ask people who fit those descriptions to convene
for ideation. Get people from different departments. Use note cards,
sticky notes or white boards to jot down ideas. I’ve been a
participant of brainstorms at Pace for simply being a Millennial and
for being a person who recently moved. You never know how
personal experiences will come in handy.

22. 6. Team Brainstorming
Aim: Breadth
Great for: Large groups; People with competitive spirits or a
facilitator with a large number of brainstormers.
How it Works: Break the team into small groups or pairs to
meet for a few minutes and generate as many ideas as possible
within a certain timeframe. The teams can each have their own
dry erase board, poster board or large sheet of paper. The small
groups will naturally try to come up with the best ideas or the
highest number of ideas. When time is up, each team presents
their ideas, also within an allotted timeframe. I’ve participated
in this type of brainstorm at Pace. It was fun to try and best the
other teams by coming up with the most or the greatest ideas.

23. A. There are no dumb ideas. It is a brainstorming session, not a serious matter
that requires only serious solutions. Remember, this is one of the more fun tools
of quality, so keep the entire team involved.
B. Don’t criticize other people’s ideas. This is not a debate, discussion or forum
for one person to display superiority over another.
C. Build on other people’s ideas. Often an idea suggested by one person can
trigger a bigger and/or better idea by another person. Or a variation of an idea on
the board could be the next “Velcro” idea. It is this building of ideas that leads to
out of the box thinking and fantastic ideas.
D. Reverse the thought of “quality over quantity.” Here we want quantity; the
more creative ideas the better. As a facilitator, you can even make it a challenge
to come up with as many ideas as possible and compare this team’s performance
to the last brainstorming session you conducted.

25. The benefits of brainstorming are numerous. Brainstorming builds
involvement, commitment, loyalty, and enthusiasm. Participating in
the sessions stimulates and unlocks people’s creative talents.
Brainstorming also builds self-esteem because people are being
asked for their participation and their ideas.
1. It Allows Creative Thinking
2. It Encourages Everyone’s Viewpoints
3. It Involves Everybody
4. Its Swift and Easy
5. It Sets a Learning Baseline

26. Individual Benefits
Group Benefits
Variety of experience & skill
Promotes framework
Deeper solution
Ultimate freedom
Complete focus
Experience and knowledge

27. Brainstorming has numerous benefits to both you and your
organization. And yet, not unlike most good things in life, it still has
costs and risks involved. These to be worth taking but you should be
aware of them so that you can look out for them and readily counter
any objections or problems if they occur.
The risk of loosing your faith in brainstorming because of lack of knowledge

28. Brainstorming allows people to think more freely, without fear of
judgment. Brainstorming encourages open and ongoing collaboration
to solve problems and generate innovative ideas. Brainstorming helps
teams generate a large number of ideas quickly, which can be refined
and merged to create the ideal solution.
1. Brainstorming is a process for generating new ideas.
2. It uses a set of specific rules and techniques which encourage
and spark off new ideas which would never have happened
under normal circumstances.
3. Traditional brainstorming can be greatly enhanced by using
modern updated techniques, materials and software