Brain-friendly brainstorming

Traditional brainstorming states a problem, invites participants to call out solutions, records every contribution and evaluates the list later. The method can work, but many sessions produce predictable ideas and allow the most senior or forceful participant to dominate evaluation. Brain-friendly brainstorming adds a brief incubation break and a fast, democratic filter to address both weaknesses.

When to use it

• Use it when a group needs a broad set of possible solutions quickly and hierarchy might otherwise narrow participation.

Origins

The method combines two established ideas. Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn developed group brainstorming at BBDO, described it in How to Think Up (nineteen forty-two) and gave it its most influential treatment in Applied Imagination (nineteen fifty-three). This variation adds psychological incubation: temporarily setting a problem aside can improve later problem solving under suitable conditions. A quick voting method then introduces convergence after Osborn’s divergent generation phase.

What it is

The format alternates two short bursts of idea generation with an unrelated conversation. It then classifies ideas by group vote as promising, unsuitable or interesting but irrelevant. The objective is to widen creativity without lengthening the session and to prevent one person from controlling the first filter.

How to use it

A solution sometimes appears after a person stops working directly on a difficult problem. Research describes this as an incubation effect: distance can reduce fixation, allow memory associations to change and make a new interpretation more accessible. The exact mechanism varies, so the break should be viewed as a useful design feature rather than proof that a hidden mental process always solves the problem.

Brain-friendly brainstorming applies this idea by interrupting continuous attention before the group becomes fixed on its first answers. Participants discuss an unrelated topic, then return to the challenge with a fresh retrieval context. The second burst may yield more varied ideas, though results should be judged in the actual session rather than assumed.

The method is:

State the problem precisely and confirm that everyone understands the relevant context and constraints.

1. Appoint a scribe and record ideas on a visible flipchart or whiteboard so one contribution can stimulate another.

1. Generate ideas for two minutes, then stop.
2. Discuss a genuinely unrelated subject for two minutes.

1. Return to the original challenge and generate ideas for another two minutes.

The group should now have a substantial list, often with more unusual options in the second round. Apply a rapid first filter:

Prepare red, green and neutral black or blue pens. Have the scribe read each idea and clarify its meaning without opening debate or allowing advocacy.

1. Vote by show of hands:

(a) Who believes the idea merits further discussion?

(b) Who believes it should not proceed?

(c) Who finds it interesting but not relevant to this challenge?

1. Mark a majority “proceed” vote with a green plus, a majority “stop” vote with a red minus and an “interesting elsewhere” result with a black or blue “i.” The process creates a first-pass shortlist in under ten minutes.

Final analysis.

Familiar methods often persist without comparison. This variation is simple enough to test: a start–stop–restart sequence supports incubation, while plus/minus/interesting voting creates a quick shortlist. The time saved should be invested in developing, testing and implementing the selected ideas.

Top practical tip

Keep the incubation topic genuinely unrelated and prevent advocacy during voting. Clarify ideas neutrally so status and confidence do not determine the shortlist.

Top pitfall

A majority vote can suppress a novel idea before evidence exists. Treat the result as a first filter, preserve the full list and allow one or two low-cost minority ideas to advance to testing.

Further reading

Curedale, R.A. (2013) 50 Brainstorming Methods: For Team and Individual Ideation. Topanga, CA: Design Community College Inc.

Osborn, A.F. (nineteen fifty-three) Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Problem-Solving. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Sio, U.N. and Ormerod, T.C. (two thousand and nine) “Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review.” Psychological Bulletin, one hundred and thirty-five(1), ninety-four–one hundred and twenty.