Brainstorming Techniques for Training

Brainstorming Techniques for Training

Brainstorming is a modern training method that encourages creative thinking and unleashes the potential of trainees in an atmosphere of freedom and safety that allows all opinions and ideas to emerge. The trainee is at the peak of interaction with the situation and this method is suitable for open issues and topics that do not have a single correct answer.

Concept of Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an educational and training approach that is based on freedom of thought and is used to generate the largest possible amount of ideas to address an open-ended topic from those interested or concerned with the topic during a short session.

Essential Principles in a Brainstorming Session

The success of a brainstorming session depends on the application of four essential principles:

First: Defer evaluation: No evaluation of any of the ideas generated in the first stage of the session is allowed because criticism or evaluation of any idea for the participating individual will cause him to lose follow-up and distract his attention from trying to reach a better idea because fear of criticism and feelings of tension hinder creative thinking.

Second: Unleash freedom of thought: This means freeing oneself from what might hinder creative thinking in order to reach a state of relaxation and lack of reservation, which increases the release of creative abilities to imagine and generate ideas in an atmosphere devoid of embarrassment from criticism and evaluation. This principle is based on the fact that unrealistic, strange, and funny mistakes may provoke better ideas from other people.

Third: Quantity before quality: This means focusing in a brainstorming session on generating as many ideas as possible, regardless of their quality. Extreme, illogical, or strange ideas are acceptable. This principle is based on the assumption that creative ideas and solutions to problems come after a number of unfamiliar solutions and less original ideas.

Fourth: Building on others' ideas: This means that it is permissible to develop the ideas of others and come up with new ideas, as the proposed ideas are not the exclusive property of their owners, but are a common right for any participant to modify and generate other ideas from them.

Brainstorming Obstacles

Brainstorming means putting the mind in a state of excitement and readiness to think in all directions to generate the largest possible amount of ideas around the issue or topic at hand. This requires removing all obstacles and personal reservations in the face of thought to express all its depths and fantasies.

Here are some of the thinking obstacles that lead to personal and social causes, the most important of which are:

• Cognitive obstacles: Represented by the adoption of one way of thinking and looking at things.
• Psychological obstacles: Represented by the fear of failure.
• Obstacles related to the feeling of the need to conform to others.
• Obstacles related to blind acceptance of assumptions.
• Obstacles related to the fear of others accusing our ideas of being ridiculous.
• Obstacles related to rushing to judge new and strange ideas.

Creative Thinking Obstacles

Each of us possesses a considerable amount of the ability to think creatively more than we think about ourselves, but a number of obstacles that restrict creative energies and prevent their explosion and put them into use and application hinder this ability. These include:

Cognitive obstacles

Cognitive obstacles are represented by the adoption of one way of looking at things and matters. He does not perceive the thing except through dimensions determined by the limited view that hides other characteristics of this thing.

Example of the barometer: A device for measuring atmospheric pressure is a single characteristic imposed by the educational system. When we get rid of the cognitive obstacle, we see other dimensions in it, including that it can be used as a pendulum, a gift, or a tool for measuring height or a children's game.

Psychological obstacles

These are represented by the fear of failure, and this is due to the individual's lack of confidence in himself and his abilities to come up with new ideas and convince others of them. To overcome this obstacle, the individual must support his self-confidence and his abilities to be creative and that he is not much less in his abilities and talents than many scientists who have innovated, invented, and discovered.

Focus on the need to conform to others

This is due to the fear that the person will appear in front of others in a way that invites ridicule because he came up with something far from familiar to them.

Self-imposed restrictions

This obstacle is considered one of the most difficult obstacles to creative thinking, as it means that the person voluntarily, consciously or unconsciously, imposes restrictions that were not imposed on him when dealing with problems.

Adherence to specific patterns of thinking

Often some people go to choose a specific pattern for looking at things and then become associated with this pattern for a long time without giving it up. Also, some may seek to assume that there is a solution to problems that must be sought.

Creative Thinking Obstacles 

• Blind acceptance of assumptions: This is a process that many of us carry out in order to facilitate problem-solving and reduce the various possibilities that need to be studied.
• Rushing to evaluate ideas: This is one of the main social obstacles in the process of creative thinking. Phrases that often kill the idea in its cradle are what we often hear when proposing a new idea, such as: "We've tried this idea before," "Who can guarantee the success of this idea?" "This idea is too far ahead of its time," and "This idea will not be approved by officials."
• Fear of others accusing our ideas of being ridiculous: This is one of the strongest social obstacles to creative thinking, and brainstorming is considered one of the most successful methods of creative thinking.

Steps in a Brainstorming Session

A brainstorming session goes through a number of stages, and accuracy must be taken in performing each of them in the desired way to ensure its success. These stages include the following:

1. Identifying and discussing the problem (topic): Some participants may be fully aware of the details of the topic, while others may have a simple idea about it. In this case, the facilitator is only required to give participants the minimum amount of information about the topic because providing more details can greatly limit their thinking and confine them to specific narrow areas.

2. Reframing the topic: Participants at this stage are asked to move outside the scope of the topic as it is known and to redefine its dimensions and different aspects from scratch. There may be other aspects to the topic. It is not required to suggest solutions at this stage, but rather to rephrase the topic by asking questions related to the topic. These questions should be written in a place that is clear to everyone.

3. Creating an atmosphere for creativity and brainstorming: Participants in a brainstorming session need to be prepared for a creative atmosphere. The preparation process takes about five minutes, with participants practicing answering one or more questions posed by the facilitator.

4. Brainstorming: The facilitator writes down the chosen question(s) by reframing the topic reached in the second stage and asks participants to freely present their ideas. The note-taker should write them down quickly on a whiteboard or paper board in a prominent place for everyone to see, numbering the ideas according to the sequence they are received. The facilitator can then invite participants to reflect on the presented ideas and generate more of them.

5. Identifying the strangest idea: When the well of ideas is about to run dry for the participants, the facilitator can invite them to choose the strangest and most distant ideas from the presented ideas and from the topic, and ask them to think about how these ideas can be transformed into a practical and useful idea. At the end of the session, the facilitator thanks the participants for their valuable contributions.

6. Evaluation session: The goal of this session is to evaluate the ideas and determine what can be taken from them. Sometimes good ideas are very prominent and clear, but more often good ideas are buried and difficult to identify. We are usually afraid that they will be neglected among dozens of less important ideas. The evaluation process needs a kind of convergent thinking that starts with dozens of ideas and summarizes them until they reach the good few. Ideas can be classified into:

   • Useful and directly applicable ideas.
   • Useful ideas, but not directly applicable or require further research or approval from other parties.
   • Interesting but impractical ideas.
   • Excluded ideas.

Brainstorming Techniques:

The brainstorming approach relies on four essential principles:

1. Deferring the evaluation of the presented ideas until the end of the session.
2. Unleashing freedom of thought during the session without restrictions.
3. Focusing on generating the greatest amount of ideas from the participants, not on their type.
4. Allowing the development of others' ideas to build on or develop them.

Brainstorming Session Mechanisms:

There is more than one mechanism by which a brainstorming session can be implemented, including:

• Addressing the entire topic by all participants at the same time, with the number not exceeding twenty.
• If the number of participants exceeds twenty, they can be divided into groups, and each group can be asked to address the entire topic completely. Then the ideas from the groups are collected and the repeated ideas are deleted.
• Dividing the topic into parts and dividing the participants into groups, and each group is tasked with addressing a part of the topic, then collecting the ideas of the groups to form the complete parts of the topic.

• Steps in a Brainstorming Session :

  • Brainstorming (Generating Ideas): This is the core stage where participants freely express their ideas related to the reframed topic. The facilitator plays a crucial role in keeping the session focused and encouraging participation.
  • Stimulating Participants (if the well of ideas runs dry): When participants struggle to generate new ideas, the facilitator can utilize techniques to stimulate them. This might involve asking participants to consider the strangest idea presented and brainstorm ways to make it practical. Another technique is to encourage participants to build upon existing ideas or combine them to create new ones.

  Evaluation Session:

  • This stage involves analyzing the ideas generated during the brainstorming session. The goal is to identify the most promising and discard irrelevant ones. Good ideas may be readily apparent, but often valuable insights can be buried amongst numerous suggestions. The evaluation process requires a shift towards convergent thinking, where the multitude of ideas are condensed into a select few with the most potential. Ideas can be categorized as follows:

    • Useful and directly applicable ideas: These ideas are practical and can be implemented readily.
    • Useful ideas requiring further development: These ideas have merit but may require additional research, resources, or approval before implementation.
    • Interesting but impractical ideas: These ideas may be innovative but lack feasibility in the current context.
    • Excluded ideas: These ideas are deemed irrelevant or impractical and are discarded.

  Example of a Brainstorming Activity:

  1. Introduction: The facilitator spends 5 minutes providing a brief theoretical introduction related to the session's topic.
  2. Reframing the Problem: The facilitator reframes the problem by presenting it as a series of questions, for example: "How can we reduce air pollution?" "How can we reduce water pollution?" "How can we reduce land pollution?" This reframing allows participants to consider the problem from multiple angles during the brainstorming session, which lasts 10 minutes.
  3. Ground Rules: The facilitator spends 5 minutes explaining the essential principles of brainstorming:
     • Deferring Judgment: Avoid evaluating ideas during the brainstorming stage.
     • Unleashing Freedom of Thought: Encourage participants to express all ideas freely, regardless of how unconventional they may seem.
     • Quantity over Quality: Focus on generating as many ideas as possible, with no emphasis on their quality at this stage.
     • Building on Others' Ideas: Encourage participants to build upon, modify, or combine existing ideas to create new ones.
     • Active Listening: Participants should attentively listen to the facilitator's instructions and each other's ideas.
     • Cooperation: Participants should offer their ideas clearly and concisely, allowing the notetaker to record them efficiently.
  4. Brainstorming Session: The facilitator appoints a notetaker to record all ideas on a whiteboard or chart paper visible to everyone.
  5. Stimulating Participation: If participants struggle to generate new ideas, the facilitator can use the techniques mentioned earlier, such as focusing on the most unusual idea or encouraging participants to build upon existing ones.
  6. Evaluation Session: This 45-minute session involves a group discussion to evaluate and categorize the ideas generated during brainstorming. The facilitator leads the discussion, guiding participants to categorize ideas as follows:
     • Useful and directly applicable ideas
     • Useful ideas requiring further development
     • Interesting but impractical ideas
     • Excluded ideas
  7. Conclusion: The facilitator spends 10 minutes summarizing the key takeaways from the brainstorming session and highlighting the most promising ideas for further exploration or implementation.