Brainstorming can be difficult, especially when your calendar is dictating when your creative inspiration needs to happen. The concept of scheduling a meeting to jumpstart a brainstorm session seems almost counterintuitive. Shouldn’t creative problem-solving happen organically? Creating more structure in brainstorming sessions can actually improve the creative process and make meetings more productive.
Worldcom partner, Off Madison Avenue, shared 10 strategies to make your next brainstorm session a success in a recent blog post. Where do you start? Off Madison Avenue explains that establishing rules before the meeting is key to ensuring productive participation. The loudest voice isn’t always the most insightful, so it may be helpful to establish a system that allows everyone to speak without interruption. For example, writing thoughts down and having everyone read their ideas without questions or comments from others until complete.
Another tip is to avoid getting caught up in details. Don’t stop the momentum of the creative process by immediately trying to iron out the nitty-gritty logistics. Save the questions surrounding the execution and details of an idea for another meeting. A great way to keep the conversation moving is to limit the amount of time that can be spent discussing an idea before moving on to another.
Once you are ready to put your ideas into action, start small. Taking on the big-picture items right off the bat can be overwhelming and slow down the momentum created in your brainstorming session. Instead, start with smaller details that will help build towards the larger goals over time.
These tips will get your next brainstorming session off to a strong start but these are only a few pieces of the larger puzzle. Find out the other seven tips for effective brainstorming by visiting Off Madison Avenue’s blog post.
Off Madison Ave is a Phoenix-based, integrated marketing firm with one goal in mind: to help clients succeed utilizing the most effective communications strategies. With capabilities in the areas of branding, user experience design, creative content generation, online and social media marketing and campaigning, Web design, mobile and Web applications, Web development, and public relations, Off Madison Ave offers clients world-class service backed by in-depth industry knowledge and practical expertise. Clients include Nike, Arizona Office of Tourism, Curis Resources, Phoenix School of Law, Spenco Medical and more.
