Easy rules to supercharge your next brainstorming session

What do you know about brainstorming? Yes, it’s the session where everyone shares and discusses the craziest ideas ever, but have you ever asked yourself the perfect way of having the brainstorming session where everyone wins?

Everyone is aware of the power of brainstorming - but only a few know how to do it effectively. Although, if you learn the proper way of organizing and holding brainstorming sessions and make up your mind on frequency, you will get more brilliant ideas and satisfied team members.

1. Topic

It must be clear and well-defined that each of the participants will be able to prepare beforehand. The topic should be announced at least 1-3 days before the session and you can ask your team members and other participants to think of the ideas. 

2. Space setup

Everyone likes comfort right? As an organizer, ensure the place is spacious enough to fit everyone and ventilated properly, air-conditioned if needed. 

Offer drinks and appetizers (or sweets) - provided the menu follows everyone’s diets (vegan, halal, etc). Moreover, everyone likes the free flow of drinks, this also can be an incentive to join as you offer the value “I offer you free drinks and you give me the ideas”. 

Next, the chairs must be comfortable and the table is best to be round - easier to keep eye contact and hear everyone’s ideas. It also helps to soothe the conflicts. 

Don’t forget about a whiteboard! You need to record all the ideas and spice them up with the new ones. Moreover, whenever your eyes fall on the existing idea written on the board, your mind starts generating new ones.

3. Participants

Keep it from 5 to 12 participants. Pick the most creative and outgoing zappers from different departments. Top management is encouraged to take part as well. 

Don’t forget to appoint a leader and secretary: the former one will lead the discussion, mediate the conflicts, cheer up the sluggish members and cool down too hyperactive ones, and the latter one will note down the minutes of the meeting, the ideas, basically record the whole session. 

4. Clear rules

a) The first and foremost rule of thumb - no phones at all. 

b) Proper timing - keep it in the span between 30 minutes to one hour. But if you are really pumped up with the ideas, then you can add up additional time.

c) Defer judgment and criticism - you can do it after the session. Any criticism will just stop the flow of ideas.

5. Aftermath

You know that encouragement works best, right? Never forget to reward the owners of the idea with a small present, unnecessary to be something big, but something surely encourages others to push more efforts next time. 

Send the minutes notes to each of the participants (just in case anybody can offer anything else), and appoint the executives of the best ideas. Create the checklist for yourself and for executives to be on the track.

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