brainstorming How do you do it?

Why brainstorm? Promotes your creative thinking Generate –Ideas –New concepts –Problem solutions Promotes liberated thinking –Free of Judgment

Why brainstorm? –All ideas should be voiced Group sessions stimulate everyone's creative thinking Don't try to find the answer Brainstorming promotes group relations

What goes Everything can be said –No evaluation –No decisions until later –No criticism –No fine details Comes later during review The more ideas, the better, the higher the chance of success

What goes No idea is too –Expensive –Exotic –Bizarre –Trivial Encourage –Existing idea

What goes Combinations Adaptations Improvements Expansion

Did you know the idea of velcro was conceived during a brainstorming session between NASA designers to find a replacement for zips on the spacesuits? The person came up with the idea when he thought of how thorns stick to your clothes. A piece of trivia for you

How do you do it? Self –Your subject is the Mind Map title –Imagine you have an "inner advisor" who gives you ideas and solutions –Use tab to add your first idea off the title Shift-tab to add forthcoming ideas –Stop When ideas run dry

How do you do it? Have collected a sufficient number –Evaluate Delete Duplications Delete those not relevant –Organize Order according to preference –Use the Outliner

How do you do it? –Click and drag –Expand on the favorites Add child branches with further detail Group –Assign A "recorder" –Records each idea

How do you do it? A session Leader –Controls who's turn it is to speak and maintains the flow of ideas Everyone else is "the panel" –The more people the more ideas - b ut a group of 15+ is hard to manage The Leader and Recorder can partic ipate too –Proposing Ideas Are spoken spontaneously

How do you do it? In rapid sequence Don't elaborate (yet!) –Setup Remind everyone the reason for the session Title the Mind Map with your subject Have a quiet minute or two to think before proposing –Commencing

How do you do it? The Recorder uses tab to add the first branch –Ready for the first idea –Use shift-tab for subsequent ideas! You can go around the table clockwise to open the floor –Stop When ideas run dry Have collected a sufficient number

How do you do it? –Evaluate Delete Duplications Delete those not relevant –Organize Order according to preference –Use the Outliner –Click and drag

How do you do it? –Expand on the favorites Add child branches with further detail

About Brainstorming... Coined in 1948 by Alex Osborne (an advertising executive) Taps into the brain's capacity for lateral thinking & free association