This is the second of two blog posts about how to brainstorm successfully. This post will provide tips on how to handle some touchy issues in brainstorming sessions.
According to Merriam Webster, brainstorming is “a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group.” The word “spontaneous” in the above definition gives the impression that a brainstorming session is a free-for-all. However, brainstorming that isn’t well organized, isn’t led by a moderator or doesn’t have rules or goals is unlikely to be successful. More about the organizational aspects of brainstorming is available in the first blog post on this topic.
Merriam Webster makes it sound easy, and politely sidesteps the sticky parts of brainstorming. There’s an emotional component to brainstorming, based on the relationships and communication within the group, among the people in the room. The person leading the brainstorm has to be savvy and comfortable about dealing with those dynamics.
Should you allow ideas to be labeled “bad” in a brainstorm?
In answer to this question, Dionne Taylor, director, Polkadot Communications in Sydney, hesitates. “I always say no idea is a bad idea, but… can that idea be stress-tested if we present it to our client and the client says yes? As PR professionals we are creative and we can think of some wonderful ideas, but if asked to pull them off, the key question is could we? Asking ourselves if ideas are realistic or pie-in-the-sky is a question that my team has learned we must do.”
Says David Eichler, creative director & founder, Decibel Blue in Phoenix, and Decibel Green in Denver, “We have a simple approach. It is definitely true that bad ideas can lead to good ones. And we actively encourage people to risk throwing out any idea. What everyone in our agency culture understands is 1) you never mock someone for a bad idea, and 2) you don’t coddle them either. If someone says something and the response by the group is negative, we move on! We don’t need to take a minute and coddle the person, making sure their feelings are ok. Everyone is taught that you’re not a bad person if you have a bad idea, but we don’t get good ideas if we spend time pretending to like bad ones. And yes, sometimes that bad idea sparks something good a few minutes later.”
Fred Russo, executive director, Botica Butler Raudon Public Relations in Auckland, New Zealand, comments, “The best thing is to cull a bad idea without hurting feelings or tamping down the creativity. Moments like these are a great place for a little humor to move the conversation along.”
Of the many rules that have been established about brainstorming, not judging others’ ideas negatively is one of the most common. One issue worth pondering is that participants sometimes decide not to share their own ideas because they’ve judged them negatively. This generally happens because they’ve thought too much about them. The idea editing and refining process should come after the brainstorming. In brainstorming, sheer quantity of ideas is more important than quality.
What do you do about people who are silent in brainstorming sessions?
While some feel that everyone in a brainstorming session should contribute or not be there, there are always contrarians. “These aren’t personal development sessions,” exclaims Eichler. “We are seeking ideas. If quiet people want to attend but not speak, for any number of reasons, and then offer up ideas after the fact, fine. As we all know, it’s very often the listener who has the most wisdom in a room.”
“One way to encourage those who tend to be quiet is to start out by asking everyone to write down several ideas before the discussion starts, and then ask each person to share their ideas,” suggests Kai vom Hoff, managing partner, vom Hoff Kommunikation GmbH in Düsseldorf.
“Introverts are unbelievably valuable,” comments Russo. “A brainstorm might not be the right place to get them to speak up at all. I tend to ask quiet creative types through media they appreciate, like email or text. In this case, it’s not about the facilitator, it’s about the employee.”
How do you handle a conversation hog?
It’s not unusual for one or two outgoing, aggressive participants to dominate the discussion in a brainstorming meeting. When that happens, others in the group whose ideas may be as good or better stay quiet. Sometimes they feel intimidated and mistake the confidence exhibited by these domineering types as high-quality creativity. It’s up to the leader of the session to rein in these blabbermouths to make sure other ideas are aired.
One way to avoid this problem is to be selective when inviting people to a brainstorming session. Think in advance about the group dynamics and exclude narcissistic and domineering people.
Asking participants to write down their ideas first, and then share them, as vom Hoff suggests, is not only a good way to encourage quiet people to contribute, it also provides an easy way to prevent the extroverts from dominating the meeting and make sure everyone has a chance to contribute.
How to ruin a brainstorm
If the goal of the brainstorm isn’t crystal clear and specific, it’s not likely that helpful solutions will come out of it. For example, compare the following goals: 1) “Launch our new product so people will buy it.” 2) “Motivate upscale shoppers to buy our new product even though it’s higher priced than the competition.” The second goal statement provides information about the target audience for the product and about the problem the brainstorming needs to solve.
Other ways to ruin a brainstorm:
- “Being distracted, talking over one another, not dedicating the time to listen properly to your fellow teammates when you expect them to reciprocate, and coming up with copy-cat ideas or ideas that simply are not executable,” says Taylor.
- States vom Hoff, “The most important thing is to collect ideas only. The evaluation of ideas is the best way to wreck the session.”
- Eichler’s negative list: “Talking about account status. Coming unprepared. Arriving late. Checking phones.”
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
When brainstorming goes well, not only does it result in creative solutions, it can also provide great satisfaction for the team of brainstormers. People who have a positive experience in these sessions generally feel more energized and positive about their jobs and more engaged and motivated. They’ve been asked for ideas, which is a sign of respect, and when the result is a creative solution they’ve helped develop, it further reinforces that respect. That’s a win-win result. That’s how to brainstorm!