- Tell the group members originally in a right-brain-only group to share with their
new left-brain group members a copy of their idea lists, so that each combination
group now has one list of left-brain ideas and one list of right-brain ideas. - Have the groups randomly select one idea from each list and use the combination
to help think of new ideas, write new ideas down on Post-it®Notes, and place
them on flip charts for evaluation.
Debrief/Discussion
This activity exploits the natural tendency of people to generate logical, practical ideas
that, of course, rarely lead to breakout ideas. By insisting that people intentionally think
of illogical ideas instead, participants are forced to create new perspectives and consider
more innovative approaches. You might suggest that the participants discuss how well
they were able to demonstrate right- and left-brained thinking and whether combining
the two types of thinking made a difference in the quality of ideas produced.
Also 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?
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