It is weird how creativity works: you can’t just flip it on like a switch, but you have to gently massage your brain to get the most creative ideas flowing. But where do you start when you want to have a super productive brainstorm that leads to brilliant ideas?
Some people get the best ideas when they lie in their bed at night, singing underneath the shower or riding their bicycles to work. But if you have to be creative at work, showering is not an option (unless you work as a bikini model, perhaps). There are some tricks to get those great ideas coming, though.
Here’s how to get them plopping out like a cork on a champagne bottle:
Leave criticism at the door
Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy (or are crazy, that too is a possibility). Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by “jolting” them out of their normal ways of thinking. Therefore it is extremely important not to criticize during a brainstorm: this will hold the crazy outbursts of thoughts back and that’s why you’re having the brainstorm in the first place.
Come prepared
Even though being spontaneous and having crazy thoughts and ideas are the idea of a brainstorm, they will not pop up out of nowhere. That’s why it is important to prepare. Don’t overdo it though: that will destroy the process. Read a little bit about the problem at hand and write a couple of ideas down before you get started, that’s enough to get the brain-juices flowing.
Orchestrate
Once you sit down with the members of your team, it’s time to start a group discussion to develop the ideas everybody has and transform them into new ideas. It’s important that everybody feels encouraged, even the shyest people, and that they get enough time to talk about their insights. Stick to one conversation at a time and call everybody back when the conversation gets sidetracked. Don’t be too tough though: the idea is that you all have fun and share as many ideas as possible, regardless how good or bad they are.
Work it out
When the meeting is over, it is important that you work out your plans right away. If you wait too long, you’ll forget what everybody said exactly and it just becomes one big, whirly mess. And it would be such a shame not to do something useful with all these sparkly, new ideas you concocted. So get cracking, write everything down and divide tasks that have to be done in order for this brilliant master scheme of yours to work out.
Do you hold a brainstorm every now and then? How do you get the most creative ideas flowing?
Let's talk
9 comments
BY THIS CHICK'S GOT STYLE
Welcome to CHAPTER FRIDAY! Your online toolkit to an awesome and successful life, curated by Yara (and team of supergirls). Hopefully you are excited about this next chapter, and the natural transformation of fashion blog This chick's got style. Find out more about that process here. Kind of miss the old This chick's got style? Hop on over to Yara's corner, where you'll find two years of blog archives to dig into plus a daily personal post.
follow
Yara as speaker
Yara Michels is a professional blogger, all-round business chick, award nominated marketing author and freelance ELLE writer. She hosts blogging masterclasses, takes on online cases for big companies and is an experienced speaker on online topics. Curious yet?
Read more
I love working with word assosiations. Sometimes you get very crazy words, but maybe these words can get combined by less crazy ones and you might have a creative new idea!
That’s a very good one, Céline! We should try it in our Monday Meetings.
Sometimes I do brainstorm but sometimes the ideas just keep coming
http://www.thoughtsinstyle.com/
That’s why you should carry a notebook and a pen with you at all times, no?
x
Interesting piece! I’d recommend testing different brainstorming techniques, since some techniques are proven to generate more ideas than others. Did you know that by having an oral discussion you end up with a lot less ideas than by using techniques without talking?
For example, one technique that works well in groups is handing out post-its. Every group member individually writes down one idea per post it, and immediately passes this post it on to the person on the right. The person on the right takes a look at this note, and after having read it, passes it on to the next.
With this method, you have the benefit of sharing ideas between group members which can spur new ideas, without the disadvantages of less talkative members, getting distracted, or focusing too much on one idea.
You have a very good point there, Anne. It also depends on the group your working with: what kind of people are they? How do their minds work and what’s the best way to open up? Trying different kinds of things will let you figure out what works best, instead of hanging on to the standard way of doing things. Thanks for your input! x
I brainstorm on my own, the best ideas come when I’m photographing. Doing a creative activity gets my creative mindset going.
FreeCarnation
We know the feeling, Mariska! Sometimes you get the best ideas while working on some other creative project. At least you know how your creative flow works, thats a good starting point
When I’m running out of ideas, I try to generalise and think about what I have around me to utilize. I end up with enough posts for a few weeks and some great last minute content that works
Lauren x
Britton Loves | Lifestyle Food Fashion Beauty - http://www.brittonloves.blogspot.co.uk