This guest post is by Art Markman, a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, executive editor of the journal Cognitive Science and a member of the editorial board of Cognitive Psychology. Follow him on Twitter at @abmarkman.
There are lots of reasons to get people together in groups to generate new ideas. It can create feelings of team cohesion, and it increases commitment to the ideas, because everyone feels like they had a role in shaping an organization’s new directions. Of course, the most important reason that we like brainstorming sessions is that they provide an opportunity to generate high-quality ideas.
It may come as a surprise that the word brainstorming comes from a specific technique for idea generation developed by Alex Osborn in the 1950s. He encouraged people to focus on coming up with as many ideas as possible without considering constraints, to welcome new ideas, to withhold criticism of those ideas, and to be open to unusual suggestions.
These basic tenets are incorporated (at least implicitly) in the way many of us organize groups to generate ideas. Unfortunately, there is a lot of research that suggests that this kind of brainstorming is deeply flawed. Groups using this intuitively sensible method come up with fewer ideas (and fewer really good ideas) than the group members would create if they worked alone.
Why does that happen? When you get together in a group, the first people who speak have a huge influence on what everyone else thinks about. So, those initial ideas constrain the range of issues people consider during brainstorming. In addition, there are social factors that may limit the ideas people express. Group members may wait for high-status members to start the discussion.
Fortunately, there are a number of suggestions for improving brainstorming that have been validated in experiments. Some of these studies have been done in my lab. Here are a few things you can do:
- Before you get together as a group, have each member write down as many ideas as they can. Each idea should be on a separate sheet of paper, and those sheets shouldn’t have any identifying marks. That way, nobody knows who originated a particular idea.
- Encourage group members to write out their ideas, but also to draw sketches and diagrams. This combination of words and pictures allows people to express things that might be hard to say with words alone.
- When you do get together, start by taking the sheets of paper and passing the ideas around the room. Let each group member build on the ideas. Have everyone look for common themes that are emerging across the many ideas.
- Start the group discussion only after you have gone through this whole process. Focus the group discussion on the ideas that people think are most promising.
- Don’t let the excitement of the group meeting cause you to settle too quickly on a particular idea. After you figure out the most promising directions, let them sit for a day or too and see if you are still as energized about them. Separate the intrinsic enjoyment of working with a group from the evaluation of the new concepts.
These suggestions are easy to implement, and they will increase the number of ideas that your team generates and improve the quality of those ideas. Because the group ends the process by talking about those ideas, you still get all of the improvements in morale and buy-in that come from getting everyone involved in creating new directions.
Image credit, DaveBolton, via iStockPhoto.com
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great advices for everyday brainstorming practice! love it!
Great ideas. I've wondered about this issue for a while. I'll incorporate these ideas as I teach creative thinking and advertising to my students.
Great ideas. How would you incorporate them in a virtual environment where there are no walls to display sheets of paper?
Great question. I suppose it depends on the software you're using for the virtual meeting. One way to do this is to use a rotation method where the documents get passed from one person to the next and each can add comments and additions. After that, the group can get together in a virtual conference to discuss the most promising ideas.
A few ideas come to mind … use Skype … each person could have a paper on the wall. Or use a webinar tool where you can display documents for all participants to view. I recently learned about typepad … i bet there are other collaboration tools that may be more conducive to this excerise. Check out OfficeLive, too.
A very useful idea, which can contribute to a more actively teaching style and an optimal involvment of every member of the group.
I also teach creative students. We talk a lot about brainstorming in class so this will be a great article to pass around.
GReat tips. I like to use the "reflect, write, share" model whether brainstorming or other adult learning/training because it accommodates a variety of styles and allows each individual creativity to shine … each voice to be heard.
It is a good to have words and sketches/diagrams to express one's ideas. It will not only provide certainly to one's thinking but also take the imagination beyond.
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As leaders of our teams it's important to generate new and exciting ideas. i like the ideas put together here to get the most out of your brainstorming.
Really insightful tips! I've seen the constraints you mentioned played out a lot in professional settings, esp. if there are strong personalities in the group. Very helpful for getting great input from ALL members of the team – especially in a creative industry like marketing, advertising or public relations. Thanks! @theprlab
[...] his blog, “Make the most of your brainstorming,” Art Markman, a Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas, states [...]
Great suggestions for generating more and better ideas! Was wondering if there is research that supports your statement that brainstorming done properly (no evaluation/criticism till all ideas are on the table) generates fewer ideas and fewer "really good ideas" than individuals working on their own.
There is a lot of research on this point. If you search on "productivity loss" and "brainstorming" on Google Scholar there are links to a number of studies on the perils of traditional brainstorming methods.
So, I had the bad concept, I always did the brainstorming with the group together, I realize I was wrong,
Thank you for the light you gave me with this article.
I ask myself the question, "If I were me, and I were in this situation and there are infinite possibilities, how could I…" this helps me write by taking me entirely out of the 1st person view and into the 3rd person view. I also keep a box of blog post ideas on my desk and keep a notepad with me. Excellent post!