Brainstorming is an important aspect of any new marketing project, but many people don’t realize there is a better way to brainstorm than sitting around a table and throwing out ideas.
Here are three tips to make your next brainstorming session productive and a great use of everyone’s time:
Prepare. Make sure everyone is prepared with the background information before your brainstorm. If you have to spend the whole meeting getting everyone up to speed, you’ve lost valuable idea generation time. Give your team members access to important materials a few days prior to your meeting. This will provide adequate time for everyone to review the notes and goals. This also allows people to start thinking about options and ideas.
State the objective. Make sure everyone is aware of the objective of the brainstorm. What are you trying to get out of it? What is the purpose? Focusing on one subject instead of many will help speed up the meeting and streamline the brainstorming process.
Start individually. At the start of the meeting, go around and ask everyone to contribute their thoughts and ideas individually. Set a time limit for each person and do not allow others to interrupt the person speaking. This allows everyone an opportunity to be heard. This approach will also help minimize the dreaded groupthink.
By following these three tips, your next creative session will deliver some great ideas and serve as a team building session.
When you’re ready for next marketing project, contact me to help facilitate your brainstorming prep and execution.