4 Tips to Better Brainstorming Sessions

One of the enjoyable parts of managing people is holding brainstorming sessions. These are opportunities to be creative, think of new ideas, approach ideas from a different perspective, or collaborate to solve a problem. A brainstorming session is an opportunity for you to mentor your employees in creativity and find out which members of the team can think about things from a different perspective.

After you’ve had a number of brainstorming sessions, you may find your creativity is sapped or the sessions are simply not as good as they had been previously. We’re going to explore 4 tips to better brainstorming sessions.

1. Introduce Some New Blood to the Meeting

Sometimes, a different perspective is just what you need to kickstart a brainstorming session. In the past, I’ve invited members of our creative team (graphic designers), communications team, or sales team to a brainstorming session. They offer a unique perspective which helps spark new ideas on the team.

2. Sometimes You Need a Different Environment

If you’re holding the brainstorming sessions in the same conference room, perhaps you need a different work environment to spark ideas. Move the brainstorming session to a different floor, outside, or off-site. A new environment can provide the extra oomph needed to come up with new ideas.

3. Try Encouraging New People to Speak

Often a brainstorming session is driven by the same voices. Encouraging other members of the team to take a more active role, and encouraging the talkers to be quiet, is just what’s needed to get the brainstorming session into new territory.

4. Change How the Meeting is Run

Many managers don’t realize how their tone or language affects brainstorming sessions. You may unconsciously dismiss ideas from certain people, or speak in a tone which discourages innovation. Changing the structure of the meeting – or simply being quiet and letting an employee run the meeting – may be enough to get creativity back in your meeting.

Brainstorming sessions can produce new ideas for your team, new products, or a solution to a difficult problem. Follow these steps to restore creativity back into your brainstorming sessions.