Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
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THE BRAINSTORM
There are many techniques for inventorying known solutions and
inventing new ones. One of these is the Nominal Group Technique,
which is presented in Unit I of this Group Process curriculum.
Brainstorming is probably the most widely used of these techniques.
It is probably also the most abused technique for problem solving,
so we print here a set of guidelines for brainstorming plus
additional suggestions for its successful use.
> EXAMPLES: Sometimes fictional situations are used to introduce
a group to brainstorming; the topics may be amusing to stimulate a
playful and a creative orientation:
þ things you could do with a crate of empty Coca-Cola
bottles if you were stranded on a small desert island
þ features of a bathroom of the future
þ ways to get a message to your cousin in Kalamazoo without
using the mail or the telephone
If a group has never used brainstorming, you could start with one
of those as an introduction, or you could jump right into the real
issue that concerns the group at the moment.
> WHEN TO USE IT: There are a lot of possible applications.
þ When you want to get some ideas for possible solutions to
a problem, for example, how could we publicize our coming
Community Fair? what can be done about rising rents and
deteriorating housing in our neighborhood?
þ When you want to get ideas about how the group should
spend its time, for example, which training needs should
we address at the next workshop? which community problems
should we try to deal with during the next year?
þ When you want to identify people or organizations that
could be helpful to your group, for example, who could we
call on to support our campaign for a community health
clinic?
> HOW TO USE IT: Brainstorming usually starts as an inventory or
listing of old, familiar ideas. (There is a lot of popular wisdom
about how to deal with social problems.) It is at its best when
the group starts adapting or combining old solutions into creative
new ones. The facilitator can encourage the group to do that.
Brainstorming is comminly seen as a technique for creative thinking
in a group setting. That's correct, but it's far from the only
technique that can be used. An excellent sourcebook for either
problem solving, creative thinking techniques is The Universal
Traveler by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall.
Brainstorming is often more productive if it has been preceded by
an analysis of some sort--a discussion or exercise which allows
people to share their interpretations of the problem, its root
causes, the barriers to change, the specifics of the present
situation, a vision of the ideal situation, the parts of the
problem, and perhaps an inventory of the resources available to
help solve the problem.
Since brainstorming is an expansive, divergent thinking approach
that generates lots of ideas, it needs to be followed by a
narrowing, focusing activity that extracts a reasonable number of
promising ideas for the group to work with. There may need to be
discussion of the practicality and desirability of the different
ideas first, but as soon as possible the group will need to make
some choices. Here are some possible ways to do that:
þ "Three votes each and we'll keep the three items that
score highest."
þ "Let's try to rate these ideas from 1 to 10 on how well
they'll take. Ten is high and one is low."
þ "There seems to be interest in pursuing the second idea
and the fifth. Are there others that we should continue
to explore as well?"
þ "Can we combine any of these ideas? Can we drop some
that are almost identical to others?"
Because the key ingredient in a brainstorm is creativity, the
facilitator can help by setting an optimistic and energetic tone.
A group that has used brainstorming successfully and has found some
new solutions or directions as a result, comes away with greater
confidence in its ability to cope with challenging situations.
Brainstorming is one method that can help a group of people get
involved together in the proceess of generating creative ideas. A
facilitator writes the topic or question to be brainstormed at the
top of a large sheet of paper, then asks the group to call out
their ideas in short phrases that can be written down quickly. To
set a creative, high-energy tone, the following guidelines should
be stated to the group from the onset:
þ No judgments. No idea or suggestion, no matter how wild,
is to be shot down, or edited. (There'll be time to
evaluate the ideas later.)
þ Anything goes. Offbeat, unusual, humorous, and bizarre
ideas are encouraged.
þ Go for quantity. The more ideas, the better the chance
of coming up with a winner.
þ Building on other people's ideas is fine.
The facilitator of the brainstorm can help to keep things moving,
if necessary, by (1) setting a time limit--commonly three to 10
minutes (depending on topic and size of group), so that people will
know they can't afford to sit on an idea; (2) giving a few examples
to start things off (a "hailstorm"); (3) praising, coaxing
(gently); (4) asking for different sorts of examples if the group
starts to develop a "one track mind."
The conventional approach is to have one person record the group's
ideas on newsprint with a felt marker, so that all can see.
Sometimes two recorders work as a team, writing alternate items, so
that the group won't have to wait for the recorders to catch up.
Another variation that is especially useful if you have several
topics to brainstorm is to write each topic on a separate sheet of
newsprint paper, and provide each participant with a marker so they
can go up to the lists and record items "grafitti-style."
REPRINTED FROM: Beyond Experts: A Guide for Citizen Group Training,
by Duane Dale et al, University of Massachusetts, Citizen
Involvement Training Project, 1979.
Recent research indicates that brainstorming is not necessarily the
best technique to generate lots of creative ideas. The problem
seems to be that a group of people can go off on one tangent
without exploring the full range of possibilities. This suggests
several variations of the brainstorming process:
Instruct each group member to brainstorm individually on
the topic, writing down ideas on a small piece of paper.
Then share the ideas by reading off the lists (or
compiling the lists later).
Divide the group into two or more teams, each to
brainstorm on the same topic. This "parallel groups"
approach has some of the advantage of the first
variation, plus the sense of group cooperation, which is
an important side effect of brainstorming.
Despite its limitations, brainstorming remains a popular technique.
For many groups, it has provided a first clear picture of their
potential to think creatively together and to move off in new
directions. It also lets everyone know where the ideas have come
from, thus setting the stage for consensus and action.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98