Are you looking for a research guide to understand the brainstorming meaning? Want to get into the detailed specifics of this technique, like benefits, types, examples, etc.? You are reading through a perfect article. Let’s get deeper into the discussion.
In this article
What is Brainstorming
Well, brainstorming is a group-based activity to share knowledge and generate new ideas to solve a technical or commercial problem. This activity empowers every participant and encourages them to think and share ideas without any sort of fostering or judgment. In the end, the ideas shared are divided into different categories for further action.
Defining the subject to be discussed is crucial before starting a brainstorming session. If the topic is ill-defined, brainstorming will not produce ideas that can be applied directly. In comparison, too specific subjects can limit the thinking process during the brainstorming session.
This article will make you well familiar with brainstorming and tips to make it more effective. Today’s market has a couple of brainstorming tools, but not all of them are trustworthy. If you need a dependable tool to plan an efficient brainstorming session, try Wondershare EdrawMind.
What is the Main Purpose of Brainstorming?
Generating and noting down a series of new ideas, regardless of how they seem, is the basic purpose of brainstorming. Once all ideas are documented, they are further categorized to shortlist inventive ideas. This is how creative solutions are developed against a specific design problem. The best thing about the brainstorming session is that it enables everyone not to get afraid and to think freely.
As stated earlier, brainstorming sessions are performed in groups where different participants sit together and share their ideas to present creative solutions. At the same time, brainstorming is equally beneficial for individuals to solve a particular problem. If you want to brainstorm individually, all you need to do is to sit down and document the possible solutions to the problem you are facing.
Brainstorming sessions don’t usually follow any specific rules to generate ideas; controlled sessions have proved to be more fruitful when it comes to producing the best outcomes. Discussing various scenarios and raising questions make the overall process more productive.
Benefits of Brainstorming
Brainstorming offers a wide range of benefits, out of which the most common are as follows. Let's get into their details.
1. Generate Amazing Ideas
When the problem associated with a specific subject is presented in front of a group of people, they share their knowledge to find out the possible solution to get out of this trouble. As a result, a number of new revolutionary ideas are generated.
2. Boosts Creativity
Since the ideas shared by all team members are not judged at any point during the brainstorming session, everyone loves to participate in the discussion, and this is how creativity gets enhanced.
3. Supports Leaning
Providing an informal, relaxed, and comfortable environment for students to learn is one of the essential benefits of brainstorming. Being a student, you can think freely, share your thoughts with others, and categorize the generated ideas.
4. Breaks Routine
Getting out of your regular routine is another leading benefit of brainstorming. It is quite possible that you may not see any apparent issue when performing a task, but a brainstorming session has the ability to highlight some critical improvements you are not familiar with.
5. Empowers Teamwork
Solving a problem is not the only thing that brainstorming does. It also enables team members, participants, or employees to see how others think. This is how every teammate can get familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of other members, and a team atmosphere gets created. It assists in building an unmatchable workforce.
Types of Brainstorming Techniques
Below is a list of 5 brainstorming techniques you can go through to understand this subject in a better way.
1. Brain Writing
In this technique, the discussion and idea generation are separated from each other. The team leader presents the main topic, and every participant writes unique ideas. This method encourages every team member to share innovative ideas even if they need more time to think. If you are an introverted team member, brainwriting is the most effective brainstorming method for you.
💡Looking for a brainstorming technique that encourages everyone to participate? Try brainwriting!
2. Reverse Brainstorming
This method asks participants to consider the problem instead of thinking about the solution. This brainstorming technique assists teams in finding problems that can arise somewhere in the future. Reverse brainstorming is performed before starting a project.
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3. The 5 Whys Method
In this method, the root cause of the problem is highlighted, and it ensures that the same problem won't arise again in the future. It asks for “why” again and again until it is answered. It is a great way to stop the problem from reoccurring.
4. Silent Brainstorming
As the name depicts, this technique allows everyone to generate ideas by staying quiet. Simply put, the thinking process remains free of influence from other team members or distractions. It is a quick method to run effective brainstorming sessions.
💡Not sure if brainstorming is right for you? Try silent brainstorming! It's a great way to generate ideas without feeling pressured to speak up. Click here to learn more.
5. Step and Go Brainstorming
It is about switching rapidly between thinking modes. The team focuses on generating ideas for a specific time period and then evaluating them to find out their potential.
Brainstorming in Action
If you are planning to run a successful brainstorming session, make sure you consider the points listed below.
Step1Focus on Quantity
Quality over quantity. You must have heard this phrase a number of times. But this is not the case with brainstorming. Here, quantity matters. The more ideas a group generates, the higher will be the chances of obtaining a better solution. Therefore, focusing on multiple ideas is always better than considering a single big idea. You get the option to choose from the brainstorming ideas list.
Step2Keep Criticism to Yourself
Brainstorming sessions have no place for negativity. None of the ideas is superior to the other. When criticism is removed, the sense of freely sharing ideas gets promoted, which is why everyone loves to participate. In the absence of criticism, the chances of generating ridiculous ideas become higher.
Step3Encourage All Ideas
Always welcome every idea. It does not matter whether the idea is unusual, unique, or eccentric; encourage all of them. You never know which idea can take you to the next level. Creativity is enhanced when you welcome unconventionality.
Step4Combine Ideas & Improve Them
Collect all concepts, categorize them, and find new solutions. Doing this will help you find out innovative and feasible solutions. Support these ideas and highlight improvements. Whether it is your idea or not, you can support it to make it even better.
Brainstorming Example for Creativity
Below is an example of brainstorming to better understand this topic. This example is created in Wondershare EdrawMind. It talks about different aspects of brainstorming to provide you with a clearer picture.
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Firstly, it says that brainstorming is a technique for generating ideas. Then, it mentions that brainstorming plays a key role in the advertising industry. Moreover, it highlights that this technique consists of different steps, and presents them all.
At the same time, you can see the benefits of brainstorming in this example, including increased creativity and encouraging team participation. In addition, variations in traditional brainstorming and limitations are also part of this example.
Tips for Making Brainstorming More Effective
- Make sure that all ideas are recorded and heard with full attention.
- Encourage participants to share as many ideas as they want.
- Don't make some strict rules for running brainstorming sessions; instead, allow every team member to think freely.
- Keep the team away from criticism. It will help you boost overall creativity and productivity.
- Always assist others in making their ideas better.
Conclusion
A creative method used to solve problems by generating a number of ideas is called brainstorming. These ideas are usually generated by groups. At the same time, you can do brainstorming alone too. It does not matter how complex a problem is; when ideas are shared in bulk, the chances of getting and developing reliable solutions increase. You get a list of brainstorm ideas to choose from.
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