Have you heard the term “brainstorming”?

Now, the word brainstorming doesn’t really mean that you have a storm in your brain.

Brainstorming is a technique that was invented about seventy years ago to help people think more creatively when they needed to solve problems.

Many different organizations use brainstorming in various ways to try to come up with a variety of different types of new solutions to existing problems. Brainstorming techniques are used by many different types of organizations, from large corporations to small neighborhood groups and even families.

The kinds of problems people brainstorm for can range from how to get humans to other planets, to how to be more profitable, to how to enjoy life more.

The essence of brainstorming is that a group of people come together to generate ideas to solve a particular problem. As they create and write down their ideas, no one in the group can criticize or judge the concepts they come up with.

Even if you think of yourself as not particularly creative, brainstorming can help you come up with innovative ways of thinking that may not have occurred to you before.

Group size matters. It is best not to involve more than ten people, but there should be more than three. One person should be the leader and one person should take notes on the ideas generated. It’s a good idea to involve a few people who have used brainstorming before, because it can get better the more you do it.

Before you begin, it is very important to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve. For example, a company may want to generate ideas such as “how can our company save money next year?” A group of city planners might want to brainstorm “how we can reduce crime in our inner city neighborhoods” or “how we can attract more people to live in our city.” A family might want to brainstorm “what kind of vacation would we all enjoy this summer.”

Before you start brainstorming, make sure everyone in the group is very clear about the exact nature of the problem they are trying to solve. Remember to have a designated person keep order and focus in the group, and have someone write down all ideas as they come up.

The leader should try to encourage the participation of everyone present. No matter how wild or ordinary the ideas may be, no one in the group can criticize or judge any idea or person.

When the group seems to run out of energy, the leader can suggest new questions to encourage everyone to think about the problem from a different angle.

Here is a list of questions that can help the group see the problem in a new way.

or What if we did this backwards?

o What if we change the order in which we do things?

o What happens if we don’t spend money?

o What if we have a lot of money to spend?

o How else can the same products be used?

o What can be totally eliminated?

o What can we add?

o What can we combine?

Try random combinations of ideas and see if they trigger new solutions.

Only after all reasonable ideas have been presented does the group move on to the next step of evaluating, discussing, and choosing the best ideas.

Rather than proceed to the evaluation stage immediately, it is better to let the group take a break for several hours.

This will help the information settle and be classified better. Remember that the process of generating creative thoughts is quite different from the process of rationally analyzing them. These two processes use the brain in very different ways.

If possible, schedule analytical sessions for the day after brainstorming sessions. Very often, the process of sleeping will help a person see solutions in a new light. During sleep, our brain sorts through the day’s thoughts, impulses, and data and consolidates the information.

Why does brainstorming work? The technique provides a safe way to imagine and express creative thoughts, encouraging the flow of even more creativity. When the critical faculty of the mind is suspended, our inner creativity can flourish without fear of judgment or ridicule. The rational part of the brain wants to analyze and classify as soon as it comes across a new idea. Start thinking, “Is this idea good or bad? Will it work or not? What will others think of my ideas? What will they think of me?”

Although both the analytical and creative components of your mind are important, your brain cannot do both effectively at the same time. Focus on one of these tasks first, and then do the other. When you need to get creative, send your inner critic out for a ride.

If you want to learn more ways to use brainstorming effectively, simply type the word “brainstorming” into your favorite search engine.

You can also use other variations of the word, such as “how to brainstorm effectively” or “improve your brainstorming.”