12 impactful activities for a team brainstorming session

Brainstorming sessions spark creativity and generate innovative ideas. However, simply gathering the team and saying "Let's brainstorm!" can lead to scattered thoughts and unstructured conversations.

A well-designed brainstorming session, on the other hand, can be far more fruitful. By incorporating structured activities into your agenda, you provide clear guidance and focus, allowing team members to channel their creativity more effectively.

These activities listed below encourage diverse perspectives, helping everyone contribute and build on each other's ideas. The result is a more productive session that leads to actionable and innovative solutions.

1. Mind mapping

Mind mapping helps teams visualize connections between ideas. Start with a central theme and branch out with related ideas. This activity encourages team members to think non-linearly, helping uncover unexpected connections.

2. Round-robin brainstorming

In round-robin brainstorming, each team member takes a turn sharing an idea. The round-robin structure ensures everyone contributes and can lead to unique suggestions. It especially benefits quieter team members who hesitate to speak up in open discussions.

3. Rapid ideation

Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and have everyone jot down as many ideas as possible. The goal is quantity over quality. This fast-paced activity reduces the pressure of developing the "perfect" concept, allowing creativity to flow freely.

4. SWOT analysis

Examine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) at the beginning of a brainstorming session. This structured approach helps teams assess the current environment and gets everyone thinking about ways to improve on the status quo.

5. Brainwriting

Instead of verbal brainstorming, try brainwriting. Team members write down their ideas on paper and pass them around. Each person builds on the ideas they receive. This method fosters collaboration and helps develop more refined concepts.

6. Worst idea first

Flip the script by encouraging team members first to suggest their worst possible ideas. This can break the ice and remove the fear of judgment. Plus, often, these "bad" ideas lead to surprisingly innovative solutions.

7. Thinking hats

Assign each team member a different "hat" representing a specific way of thinking — logical, emotional, optimistic, etc. Thinking hats encourage people to look at ideas from unique and multiple perspectives, leading to a more comprehensive evaluation.

8. SCAMPER technique

SCAMPER stands for substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate and reverse. Use these prompts to challenge your team to consider how existing ideas or products can be improved or repurposed.

9. Role storming

Ask team members to brainstorm ideas from someone else’s perspective — a customer, competitor, famous innovator or anyone else. Role-playing can lead to fresh insights by allowing brainstormers to think outside their usual parameters.

10. Affinity diagrams

After generating ideas, group similar ones together using an affinity diagram. This helps the team see patterns and common themes, making it easier to narrow down the best ideas for further development.

11. Dot voting

Give each team member a set number of votes (dots) to place on their favorite ideas. This democratic approach helps prioritize ideas based on the team's collective preferences, helping get buy-in from everyone involved.

12. Forced connections

Combine two unrelated concepts to see what ideas emerge. For example, ask the team to brainstorm how a smartphone could solve a transportation problem. Forced connections can lead to creative, out-of-the-box thinking that might not occur in a traditional brainstorming setting.

Incorporate these activities into your next team brainstorming session to boost creativity, foster collaboration and land on more innovative solutions. Mix and match these brainstorming techniques to suit your team's needs and watch the ideas flow.

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