I’ve read articles and heard people complain that group brainstorming doesn’t work, and to that I say,

“Hold up. Hey. For my people who be judgin’ too fast. You must, play. Push them to think while still having a blast.” (see what I did there? #dre)

The reason people believe that group brainstorming doesn’t work is because they’re doing it wrong or the facilitator has no idea how to make it work.

Brainstorming in business is massively important to growth, success, excitement, motivation, and so much more. Plus, doing it together brings everyone closer and adds a layer of camaraderie.

It’s critical to know how to hold a great session that will spark ideas and lead the way to future growth.

So how do you do it?

Surprise! I’m going to take you through the process right now!

PREPARE: HOW TO HOLD A GROUP BRAINSTORMING SESSION

A few things to sort out ahead of time:

(1) The session must be held over two days (either both mornings or afternoons in a maximum of 90 minutes each as we do not want people falling over from the dreaded Brain Drain syndrome).

WHY: because part of the missing piece in any group brainstorm is chillin’.

You got to let them sleep on their ideas, thoughts, discussions, and goals, to uncover the gold mine! They need to have a hot shower because it slows the pulse, lets the mind unwind, so they can find solutions they didn’t see before. Encourage them to take a walk in the evening or morning to see where their thoughts lead them.

(2) You need a diverse group that bring loads of various perspectives. Different seniority levels, departments, and ages.

WHY: because they all look at things in their own way. They see things from a completely different view than everyone else.

They may come up with something amazing due to their perspective…or come up with something ok but is built on by the other minds in the room to develop into something fabulous!

(3) Be sure to outline the rules upfront.

WHY: because we don’t want ideas to be halted by others, we don’t want people to reach only for the most UNrisky ideas for fear of judgement, we don’t want to stop anyone from building on something else. 

A few rules you might include are; “No judgements. No swaying opinions ahead of time. No tech allowed (take a break to check emails, if you must). Get as wild as you can. Listen with your whole ears without shutting it down. Imagine there are no restrictions (money, space, time, people, locations are no object), etc.”

Be sure everyone agrees to all the rules (in fact, I’d get them all to sign off on the poster if you have one).

(4) Bring the fun!

WHY: because in order to show the group that this isn’t like other meetings, you need to show them that fun is necessary to group brainstorming.

Some things you might want to include are music, colourful posters with great quotes, candy, different coloured sticky notes, caffeine, Lego, toys, etc.

Start them off with a little play so their minds relax and unwind.

DAY ONE: HOW TO HOLD A GROUP BRAINSTORMING SESSION

• The first thing that everyone need is to understand is what the goal is.
  
  
  • What are they trying to solve? Is it a product or service solution? A new name for something? A logo idea? New tool internally or externally? New job roles? An event? A marketing plan? Do this in a group discussion but do NOT allow anyone to solve or spread their ideas to sway the minds of others. This discussion is purely to be sure everyone knows exactly why they are there.
• Now, that everyone knows what the focus is, you need to get their minds working as differently as you can. Start with a couple of mind exercises/games to bring in some laughter and creative thinking. Here are 3 example questions (for more, check THIS OUT):
  
  
  1. Show them an image of something, like a cartoon ant, and ask them, as a group or individually, what songs they can think of because of that word and why.For example, the first one I thought of was “I heard it through the grapevine,” because I imagine ants would be climbing up the vine to get the grapes.
  2. Ask them to imagine they are all on a deserted island together, all they have are the clothes on their back, a flag, picture in a frame, pencil crayons, and a stapler. How can they be saved or save themselves?
  3. The final example is to have them sit in a circle, show them an object, let’s go with apple, and then, one by one the next person has to say the first thing that comes to their mind related to whatever the previous person said.For example, Facilitator shows apple, Person 1 says, “tree”, Person 2 says, “leaves”, Person 3 says, “green”, Person 4 says, “grass”, Person 6 says, “park.” You get the idea. Speed it up with music!

Alright, rules have been laid out, the goal is set, and minds are ready…now we Brain Dump!

• Give everyone 10 sticky notes.
• Ask them to write down 10 ideas focus on a solution.
• Throw on some music for about 10 minutes.
• When they have 10 ideas done, they can get a move on and stick their idea notes to the board or main wall.
• Give them 10 more sticky notes at the end of 10 minutes.
• Probe them to think even deeper, ask them to imagine it from different perspectives, like; Madonna, Steve Jobs, Einstein, if there was no budget, if they were 5 years old, etc. Really push them to “go there” (that amazingly saucy part of their mind that when unlocked holds ideas beyond your wildest imagination)!
• After 10 minutes of music, get them to put their ideas on the board/wall.
• They MUST complete all of their own 20 notes, no matter what the idea is that goes on it (sometimes bland is the right choice).
• Have everyone get up and review all of the ideas on the board with music playing so they can see what others brought to the session. Knowing all of the ideas will help everyone to roll the goal around over night, come up with new ideas, or build on one of the ones they read there!
• Close the first session with a massive round of applause!

DAY TWO: USE A GROUP BRAINSTORMING SESSION TO UNCOVER A SOLUTION/LIST

• Welcome everyone back and have them RE-sign the rules poster after you have reviewed in depth.
• Then, go right into a couple of mins preparing exercises/games as you did the day before. When done that, hand out 5 sticky notes and ask them to add any new ideas to the board/wall.
• Remember, the music!
• We want laughter and music and a little Cha-cha-cha!
• Once all of the ideas are on the board, it is time for the Facilitator to work with the group to sort through them all. At this point, you will cluster similar ideas together (with the group’s consensus), so that instead of having over 100-200 ideas, you may only have 20. You want to keep this moving FAST, I would suggest you set a 15-second maximum to discuss any one idea (in 60 minutes you would be able to cover over 200 ideas).
• POTENTIAL ENDING: Depending on what the wanted outcome is, you may be done (if this is for a bunch of ideas for the marketing plan, or event ideas, etc), BUT, if the outcome is come up with 1 solution, you need to keep going.
• To come up with one solution, you will need to hold a vote. Give everyone 3 stickers (personally, I think kids Unicorn stickers are perfect for this part) and ask that they choose 3 ideas by sticking their sticker to it. Throw on the music and give them 60 seconds!
• Remove the ones that didn’t make the cut.
• Give them 1 sticker, and ask them to put it on their favourite idea of those that are left.
• Add up all the stickers (include the ones already there), remove any that don’t cut it!
• And on and on on until only ONE is left standing!

Make a big deal about this (whether you stopped at the POTENTIAL ENDING of 20 ideas or followed through to land at just 1 idea), high fives all around! Chest pumps! Music! Pop a bottle! …of soda water with a splash of cran juice and cheers!

And, there you have it! Being able to hold a super awesome and successful group brainstorming session only makes you more irresistible! 

-Amanda

Are you ready to learn more ways to become the mind every wants in the room? The one with creative thoughts, loads of ideas, and the ability to get things done.

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