Brainstorming tips

Brainstorming tips from IDEO:

1. Defer judgment. Creative spaces don't judge. They let the ideas flow, so that people can build on eachother and foster great ideas. You never know where a good idea is going to come from, the key is make everyone feel like they can say the idea on their mind and allow others to build on it.

2. Encourage wild ideas. Wild ideas can often give rise to creative leaps. In thinking about ideas that are wacky or out there we tend to think about what we really want without the constraints of technology or materials. We can then take those magical possibilities and perhaps invent new technologies to deliver them. We say embrace the most out-of-the-box notions and build build build...

3. Build on the ideas of others. Being positive and building on the ideas of others take some skill. In conversation, we try to use "and" instead of "but"...

4. Stay focused on the topic. We try to keep the discussion on target, otherwise you can diverge beyond the scope of what we're trying to design for.

5. One conversation at a time. When different conversations are going on within a team, no one can focus.

6. Be visual. In live brainstorms we use coloured markers to write on Post-its that are put on a wall. Nothing gets an idea across faster than drawing it. Doesn’t matter how terrible of a sketcher you are! It's all about the idea behind your sketch. You could also try your hand at sketching it out or mocking it up on the computer. We love visual ideas as the images make them memorable. Does someone elses idea excite you? Maybe make them an image to go with their idea.

7. Go for quantity. Aim for as many new ideas as possible. In a good session, up to 100 ideas are generated in 60 minutes. Crank the ideas out quickly. Try setting a goal for the number of ideas you’ll get to in a certain amount of time to provide some stoke.