11 Tips for Better Brainstorms

Here's practical brainstorming advice developed through professional experience, emphasizing environmental, organizational, and interpersonal strategies for generating and refining ideas.

Environmental Changes

Leave standard meeting spaces. Try alternative venues like parks or restaurants to shift mental perspective. When relocating isn't possible, transform the existing space into a dedicated "war room" by covering walls with relevant materials.

Documentation and Organization

Capture ideas verbally and written, then arrange them into categorized lists. Number these lists—something magical happens when a list gets numbers. Cross-referencing between numbered lists generates new connections and possibilities.

Visual and Collaborative Techniques

Use whiteboards. Create large-scale sketches for group visibility. Maintain physical engagement through marker work and diagram-drawing. This keeps energy elevated and ensures collective understanding.

Creative Atmosphere

Incorporate humor—jokes trigger natural reactions in people to deal with surprise, the absurd, and find hidden truths. Verbalize ideas aloud, whether to others or yourself. Speaking forces clarification and crystallization.

Selective Implementation

After generating numerous ideas, select one or two standout concepts to pursue while discarding others. Trust your instinctive recognition of genuinely strong ideas.