7. Brainwriting
Brainstorming isn't always the best way to produce lots of ideas nor lots of good ideas. That's because group dynamics often affect how people contribute. A group with low trust is never going to do well using the standard approach to brainstorming. The way round this is to use the related technique of Brainwriting. In Brainwriting, the group don't work as a group, they work individually by writing their ideas down on a sheet of paper and then take turns in passing these round to others to add to the list. This way, people can share ideas anonymously and quickly and still come up with a large quantity of solutions to choose from.
Brainstorming, and brainwriting, are recognised as two of the best ways to use groups to improve thinking and creativity. That's because everyone has the potential to be creative and imaginative rather than just the so-called "clever". Not only do you get more ideas and more options, you also get involvement and commitment to the final decisions.
That's it for today.
Tomorrow we'll be looking at "Decision-Taking".
See you then.
Best wishes,
The ManageTrainLearn Team http://www.managetrainlearn.com
PS You can study this topic in more depth with the MTL Mini-Courses, MTL Online Courses, and Step by Step Series on the ManageTrainLearn website. Just click on the web link above and go to Products.
PPS If you are a trainer, you can teach these skills to others with the MTL E-Manuals and MTL 1daycourseplans. Just click on the web link above and go to Products.
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