Related Activities
- Idea Showers [61]
Procedure
- Tell the groups to select a discussion leader and a secretary/recorder who will
record and report the group’s ideas. - Have the groups generate ideas for 6 minutes and record them on a flip chart. (If
more time is available, allow the groups 15 to 20 minutes.) - Tell each group to evaluate its ideas and select the best ones.
- Instruct the spokesperson for each group to read aloud the group’s best ideas to
the large group. - The facilitator (you or someone you appoint) should record each group’s best
ideas on a flip chart or overhead transparency visible to all. - Give the final list of ideas to an individual or committee for additional evaluation,
or ask the larger group to discuss the ideas if time permits. Record any new ideas
that result.
Debrief/Discussion
This is a rather simplistic version of traditional brainstorming with the twist of sharing
ideas from the other groups. When it first was created years ago, it was novel in provid-
ing a structured way to solicit ideas from a large group of participants—even several hun-
dred. By breaking down the audience into small groups, everyone is ensured of a chance
to participate and the structure can produce more ideas than otherwise might result. You
probably should consider using the brainwriting variation separately or in conjunction
with brainstorming. This should ensure more ideas and higher quality ones.
Consider having participants debrief using the following questions:- What was most helpful about this exercise?
- What was most challenging?
- What can we apply?
- How would you rate the value of this exercise to helping us with this issue?
- Will this exercise be helpful in the future for other sessions?
- What did you learn?
- What will we be able to use from this exercise?
- What ideas were generated, and which ones were most interesting?
Variation
- Use brainwriting within the groups. Have each person write at least one idea on a
Post-it®Note and pass it around the group for others to use for stimulating ideas. The
group then would select the best ones to present to the large group.
Brainstorming with Related Stimuli 273
09 VG 247-294b 10/6/04 12:22 PM Page 273