5 Effective Brainstorming Exercises

Brainstorming is executed when you're in search for ideas to solve and improve problems. The most common brainstorming exercise is to simply write down your ideas on a sheet of paper. Though this can be an effective way, everyone don't work in the same mode and you need to find certain exercises that fits your learning path.

For these particular exercises, make sure that you limit your time: for instance, take about ten minutes to work with each one. This process will speed up your mind and slightly pressure you to become more alert and active. After the short "deadline", look through your ideas and see if you can find anything useful in them. And so, when ready, start anew and repeat the brainstorming exercises.

The Association Game

The Association Game can either be worked on as an individual exercise or brainstormed within a team.

...if you're alone
This is what you do:
1. You first define the problem.
2. Then you write down the first solution that comes to mind.
3. Following that, you take that solution and perceive what it would lead to if installed.
4. The final step is to develop common ideas based on the first.

...If you're in a group
1. Once again make sure that you define the problem (remember that the clearer the problem is the easier it is to brainstorm solutions and be creative).
2. One person begins by giving a solution to the problem.
3. The next person is hence challenged to associate with that idea.
4. The game continues in this path, the more team members there are, the better chance for good ideas.

Erase

We have a tendency to repeat ourselves and therefore get stuck with the same ideas. This can get extremely frustrating and for that reason alone, it's a good idea to rapidly implement your ideas as you get them and instantly see if they work or not. Thus you never need to repetitively think about them again.

This brainstorming exercise is based on not repeating your solution twice:
First write down the problem and as you come up with an idea, don't repeat it twice! Just pretend that you'll get killed if you use it again (this might be a harsh method, but you have to be slightly rough on yourself sometimes). Now it's time to figure out completely new activities to build your strategy on. Mentally erase those benefits you are currently offering, so that you really can start on scratch!

The most intuitive thing is to think about what you should do. Not in this exercise. Begin now with writing down those ideas that will most definitely ruin you if you attend them. This is an exceptionally creative way to see a problem from a different perspective.

Face your Fears

Write down the craziest and weirdest ideas you can come up with. Even though this is just an exercise, it's common to feel fear doing this as you might sense that it will not help or that you might actually get mad and consider trying these ideas. But by doing it full-heartedly and not taking the brainstorm session too seriously, you can completely relax and allow your brain to play with ideas. It's important that you don't restrict yourself. Don't fear impossible thoughts, let your imagination experiment for itself and see what happens.

Break Rules

This is somewhat associated with the previous exercise (the one above), as it's about facing and letting go of your principles in life for a second and give your creativity a wider space to flow in. Here's the principle of this exercise: Deliberately break rules. For example, if you're planning a strategy for a particular market, first reflect on all the rules and principles in which that market consists of. Now, break each and every one of them (no mercy!): have them on their heads, shake the systems and then make entirely new rules with own principles. In this brainstorming exercise you're creating your own empire: be a destructive innovator!

Ask Weird Questions

Weird questions can lead to innovative solutions. The questions don't need to be in relevance to your topic, but it can help you understand various prospects' behaviors and emotions.

Here are some examples that can get you started:
What if people didn't need to eat, how would they stay healthy?
How would a white apple taste?
What would happen if bikes started breathing? How would people react and how long would it take for it to be a "normal" thing?
Which bug is the most loved one? Why?

Continue reading here: From Problem Solving to Market

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