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BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming is a structured procedure to help generate ideas. It is based on the principle that you cannot generate and evaluate ideas at the same time. To use brainstorming, you must first gain agreement from the group to try brainstorming for a fixed interval (e.g., six minutes).To make brainstorming work, you need a “facilitator.” This person:

Successful (Yes/No)

a) does not introduce ideas (concentrates only on helping the group follow the rules)

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b) records ideas

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c) encourages quantity

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d) reminds group not to evaluate (either favorably or unfavorably)

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e) encourages wild ideas

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Research on brainstorming has shown that people get better at brainstorming as they gain experience with it. Keep this page handy for your group so that you can try brainstorming on various problems.
For a more effective approach, consider brainwriting.