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Structure/Plan a brainstorm

  1. Book the room

    • Book a room that has a fun/relaxing atmosphere. Ideally with a circular table (so nobody is seen as 'head of the table').
    • Book the room for three alternative times to give everyone some options (or check diaries to see when people are free).
    • Schedule the brainstorm for no more than an hour (of which 10 minutes is the warm up).

  2. Who to invite

    • Consider inviting a varied balance of:

      • Men/women.
      • Different ages.
      • Different levels of experience (of brainstorming).
      • Staff with different backgrounds.
      • Team members who are close to the problem and those without any experience.
      • Individuals from the target audience (e.g. mothers).
    • Note that the presence of senior management can result in some people being reluctant to open their mouths, whilst others completely overdo it.
    • The advantage of having senior people there is that their presence will focus everyone on the matter in hand.

  3. Writing materials

    • Ensure there is either a white board or a flip chart in the room.
    • You need to be able to write up the ideas as they are generated so everyone can see them, add to them, develop them and be inspired by them.
    • Bring some blu-tack if you are using a flip-chart, to stick the sheets to the wall.

  4. Sending invitations

    When sending out the invitations attach The Rules of Brainstorming, which are:

    • Ideas must never be criticised. (This is critical to running a successful session).
    • All ideas, no matter how wild, are encouraged.
    • The more ideas the better.
    • Everyone should try and build on or combine the ideas of others.
    • Every idea and every person has equal worth.

  5. Attach a brief

    Attach a brainstorm brief to the invitation. Include:

    • The key objective of the session (what it is, why, where and with whom).
    • The parameters (e.g. launch date, media support, budget, timing, etc).
    • Product details (Product, Price, Place, Promotion).
    • The target audience of the activity (their thoughts about the product, etc).
    • Key words that sum up the product (e.g. revolutionary).
    • How those key words relate to the target audience (e.g. 'early adopter').

  6. What to bring
    • Copies of the brief.
    • Pens (that work/are appropriate for a white board).
    • Some red cards. If someone responds to an idea with "Yes, but..." (and then why the idea cannot work or is a bad idea) then the person who said "Yes, but..." is red carded by everyone in the room.
    • Blu-tack (for sticking up sheets of ideas).
    • Post-it notes/pens if you split up into groups.

  7. What else to do
    • Read up on other Brainstorming techniques that might be appropriate for your needs.
    • For a list of options go to: MindTools


Now understand how to facilitate your brainstorm