Many teams complete brainstorming sessions when they need to come up with fresh ideas and new approaches. While brainstorming can be beneficial, it also has its drawbacks. Some members of your team may not feel comfortable sharing ideas in a group setting while others may worry what others will think when they spitball ideas.
An alternative worth trying is brainwriting. This is a process that allows leaders to gather creative feedback quickly, but without the stress that may arise with traditional brainstorming sessions. When brainwriting, participants jot down their ideas on a piece of paper and share them anonymously with the leader. Everyone writes down their ideas at the same time, which means more ideas faster. It also gives all employees an equal chance to share their ideas.
A post on the Lucidchart blog explains the benefits of brainwriting and how to ensure your session is successful. We highlight the post in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
Clarify the rules and parameters. According to the Lucidchart post, you should explain to the team what technique or process you will be following. For instance, are you looking for everyone to contribute a certain amount of ideas? If you need your team to adhere to any specific rules or parameters, be sure to let them know.
Identify the problem or question to be answered. To make sure your brainwriting session effective, you should know what you want to solve or what question you want your team to answer. You can use this as the prompt for your brainwriting session.
Set a timer. As a general rule of thumb, brainwriting sessions should be short and sweet. The post says you may have employees pass their cards to the next person for another round. If you take this approach, aim for short time limits of three to five minutes per round.
Put all the responses in a central location. Once you get your team’s responses, share them in one place. If you’re all in the same conference room, the post suggests writing ideas on a whiteboard or taping the notes to a wall as a simple way to showcase everyone’s thoughts.
When you need innovative ideas in a relatively short amount of time, try brainwriting. You don’t need to block off hours for a high-energy brainstorming session — all you need is a pen, some paper and creative thinkers.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: The Lucid content team. Lucidchart is an application that enables teams to create diagrams.
