Efficient Brainstorming Techniques

Stop asking AI to “brainstorm.” (Do this instead) If you type “Give me 10 creative ideas” into ChatGPT, you will get the average of the internet. You get generic, safe, vanilla patterns. The sea of sameness. To get breakthrough ideas, you need to force the AI off the beaten path using proven creative frameworks. I created this visual guide to replace unstructured requests with 8 specific techniques. Here is the full breakdown to upgrade your next session: 1. Divergent Thinking Focus on volume, not quality. Ask for 20 unique, unconventional ideas without judgment to clear the pipes. 2. Cross-Pollination Take two unrelated concepts and force them together. "Combine the hospitality of a 5-star hotel with the efficiency of a pit crew." 3. Constraint-Based Ideation Creativity loves constraints. "Generate ideas assuming we have only $100 and 24 hours to launch." 4. Role-Playing Scenarios (🌟 My Favorite) This is the most powerful unlock on the list. Pro Tip: Don’t just type this prompt.. use the Voice Mode (Siri-style) in ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Tell the AI: "You are my angriest customer. I'm going to pitch you my new idea, and I want you to tear it apart." Having a literal spoken conversation with a persona surfaces objections and nuances that text prompting often misses. 5. SCAMMPER Technique Don't invent from scratch. Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, or Reverse an existing idea. Modify twice! 6. Mind Mapping Ask the AI to explore the semantic web around your topic to find related sub-themes you haven't considered. 7. “What If” Scenarios Explore the extremes. “What if we had to 100x the value to our customers?" “What if it becomes free?" 8. Visual Brainstorming Switch modalities. Ask for visual concepts, scenes, and imagery descriptions rather than strategic text. Lazy prompts get lazy results. Treat the AI like an expert creative partner that needs direction, not a search engine that needs a keyword. Save this cheat sheet for your next strategy session. ——> Follow along with Matt Savarick to grow 💡 Repost to help your network grow ♻️

8 hours of circular debate. 90 minutes to strategic clarity. The difference? A technique called "together alone." I've watched leadership teams burn entire days in circular discussions. Smart people. Clear goals. Yet they spin in circles while the clock runs out. The loudest voice wins. The introverts check out. Politics trumps logic. And you leave more confused than when you started. Together alone changes the game completely. Here's how it works: 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (20 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀) → Everyone writes their strategic options independently → No talking. No influencing. No groupthink → Each person captures their unfiltered perspective → Ideas emerge from expertise, not volume 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (30 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀) → Each person presents their top 3 options uninterrupted → 2 minutes per person, no debates allowed → All ideas go on the wall, visible to everyone → Patterns emerge naturally without forcing them 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (10 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀) → Everyone marks their top priorities individually → No lobbying. No politics. No persuasion → The quiet genius has equal weight to the loud executive → True priorities surface, not just popular ones 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 (30 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀) → Only discuss the top-voted items → Build on convergence, not conflict → Questions before opinions → Seek understanding, not agreement Why this beats traditional brainstorming: Traditional sessions reward the confident, not the correct. The person who speaks first anchors everyone's thinking. By minute 90, you're debating personalities, not possibilities. Together alone flips the script. Introverts contribute equally. Ideas compete on merit. Politics can't hijack the process. You discuss what matters, not what's loudest. I learned this while watching a leadership team waste 2 days on endless debates. Zero decisions. Pure frustration. We tried together alone on day 3. 90 minutes later: Three strategic priorities. Full alignment. Clear next steps. The Director’s reaction? Why didn't we start with this? Because most facilitators don't trust silence. They fill space with exercises and frameworks. But silence is where clarity lives. Together protects psychological safety. Alone protects independent thinking. Combined? They unlock your team's collective intelligence. Your next strategy session doesn't need more time. It needs better design. 8 hours of debate or 90 minutes of decision? What would you choose?

Stop running brainstorming sessions like a three-ring circus. Roll the dice instead. Most brainstorming sessions ask our brains to do the impossible. Be creative AND critical. Generate ideas AND evaluate them. Think logically AND emotionally. All at the same time. And often, we're doing this in a group that has it's own relationship dynamics, politics, and neuro-styles at play. Your session turns from an energizing moment of synergy into a three-ring circus. (Except there's no cotton candy and the whole place smells like elephant 💩 .) Edward de Bono's 6 Thinking Hats is a great method for breaking out of our well worn cognitive patterns. But I use it differently than most. 🎲 The Dice Method for solo thinking: Roll a die. Match the number to a hat. Spend 15 focused minutes in that mode only. ⚪ White Hat (1): Facts and data only. Zero opinions. ❤️ Red Hat (2): Pure emotion. How does this feel? ⚫ Black Hat (3): Devil's advocate. What could fail? 💛 Yellow Hat (4): Optimist view. Best case scenarios. 💚 Green Hat (5): Wild creativity. No idea too crazy. 🔵 Blue Hat (6): Process manager. Are we on track? For group brainstorming: 1. Assign everyone a hat. (You can even bring real hats to the meeting.) 2. Make sure people are assigned a thinking hat that is different than their typical thinking pattern. 3. Give everyone 5 mins to think through a solution to a problem on their own, guided by their hat. 4. Have each person share one by one. This is metacognition in action. ❓ Which thinking hat is most natural for you, and which is hardest? 🔁 Repost if your team needs to think better, not just think more. 👉 Follow Erin Green for insights on creating courses that actually change behavior.

Most don’t realize this: but creativity requires incredible mental dexterity. Creative thinking happens through loops of alternating between generative brainstorming (diverge) and problem-solving (converge). A framework I find useful: first, focus on exploration, then hone in on a direction, then explore again before narrowing down. Where did diverge-converge-diverge as a brainstorming method come from? An American psychologist, tasked with the psychological evaluation of airforce pilots during WWII, built a taxonomy on the six key operations in human intelligence — cognition, memory recording, memory retention, divergent production, convergent production, and evaluation. In turn, this inspired ad man Alex Osborn. The cofounder of legendary ad agency BBDO described the creative thinking process as a series of alternate loops of diverging-converging-diverging, in his seminal book, “Applied Imagination” (1953). This method, argued Osborn, allows one to think beyond the “obvious” and “top of mind” ideas during the generative brainstorm, and then switch to a mode of down-selection and focus. Going straight into convergence —without first, casting the net wide with divergence— is limiting. Here are some great tips on how you can use it in your day-today: When in divergence mode: • Defer judgment • Combine and build • Seek wild ideas • Go for quantity When in convergence mode: • Be deliberate • Check the objectives • Be affirmative • Consider novelty Have you done your creative reps today?

Stop asking ChatGPT to "Help me brainstorm." That's why you get generic ideas. And why nothing ever gets executed. If you want ideas that are actually worth pursuing, you need to give ChatGPT constraints, context, and criteria for what makes an idea valuable. Use these prompts instead: 1. The Strategic Brainstorm "Act as a strategic business consultant. I need to brainstorm ideas for [specific goal/project]. Generate 10 ideas ranked by feasibility, impact, and originality. For each idea, include why it works, potential challenges, and first steps to execute. Make sure the ideas are practical and aligned with these resources I have: [add relevant details about budget/time/skills]." 2. The Constraint-Based Brainstorm "Help me brainstorm ideas for [goal/project] with these specific constraints: [budget/time/resources/skills]. I don't want ideas I can't actually execute. Give me 8 realistic, high-impact ideas that work within these limitations. For each, explain the execution path, estimated effort, and expected outcome." 3. The Competitive Edge Brainstorm "Act as a market analyst. Brainstorm ideas for [product/content/service] in [industry/niche]. Analyze what's missing or oversaturated in the current market. Generate 7 unique ideas that differentiate me from competitors and fill actual gaps. Explain why each idea stands out, who it serves, and what makes it different from what already exists." 4. The Audience-First Brainstorm "Help me brainstorm [content/product/campaign] ideas specifically for this audience: [describe target audience, pain points, goals, demographics]. Generate 10 ideas tailored to their exact needs and frustrations. For each idea, explain which specific pain point it addresses, why this audience would care, and what action they'd take." 5. The Revenue-Focused Brainstorm "Act as a business strategist. Brainstorm ways to [increase revenue/monetize/generate income] for [business/skill/platform]. Every idea must have clear monetization potential. Give me 8 revenue-generating ideas with estimated income potential, implementation difficulty, required investment, and realistic timeline to first dollar earned." 6. The Quick-Win Brainstorm "I need to brainstorm quick-win ideas for [goal] that I can execute in [timeframe]. Every idea must be implementable quickly with minimal setup or resources. Give me 7 high-impact, low-effort ideas I can start immediately. Rank them by speed to results and include exact first steps for each one." P.S. ~ For more updates like this: 1. Scroll to the top 2. Click "View my newsletter" 3. Subscribe, and you'll never miss a thing in the world of AI ever again.

🧠 “How We Brainstorm And Choose UX Ideas” (+ Miro template) (https://lnkd.in/eN32hH2x), a practical guide by Booking.com on how to run a rapid UX ideation session with silent brainstorming and “How Might We” (HMW) statements — by clustering data points into themes, reframing each theme and then prioritizing impactful ideas. Shared by Evan Karageorgos, Tori Holmes, Alexandre Benitah. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Booking.com UX Ideation Template (Miro) https://lnkd.in/eipdgPuC (password: bookingcom) 🚫 Ideas shouldn’t come from assumptions but UX research. ✅ Study past research and conduct a new study if needed. ✅ Cluster data in user needs, business goals, competitive insights. ✅ Best ideas emerge at the intersections of these 3 pillars. ✅ Cluster all data points into themes, prioritize with colors. ✅ Reframe each theme as a “How Might We” (HMW) statement. ✅ Start with the problems (or insights) you’ve uncovered. ✅ Focus on the desired outcomes, rather than symptoms. ✅ Collect and group ideas by relevance for every theme. ✅ Prioritize and visualize ideas with visuals and storytelling. Many brainstorming sessions are an avalanche of unstructured ideas, based on hunches and assumptions. Just like in design work we need constraints to be intentional in our decisions, we need at least some structure to mold realistic and viable ideas. I absolutely love the idea of frame the perspective through the lens of ideation clusters: user needs, business problems and insights. Reframing emerging themes as “How-Might-We”-statements is a neat way to help teams focus on a specific problem at hand and a desired outcome. A simple but very helpful approach — without too much rigidity but just enough structure to generate, prioritize and eventually visualize effective ideas with the entire team. Invite non-designers in the sessions as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised how much value a 2h session might deliver. Useful resources: The Rules of Productive Brainstorming, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/eyYZjAz3 On “How Might We” Questions, by Maria Rosala, NN/g https://lnkd.in/ejDnmsRr Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges, by Aurora Harley, NN/g https://lnkd.in/emGtnMyy Brainstorming Exercises for Introverts, by Allison Press https://lnkd.in/eta6YsFJ How To Run Successful Product Design Workshops, by Gustavs Cirulis, Cindy Chang https://lnkd.in/eMtX-xwD Useful Miro Templates For UX Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

Stop trying to brainstorm and create in the same sitting. That’s the fastest way to kill your creativity. I used to do both together, thinking I was being efficient. But here’s what really happened: ⚡ My ideas felt rushed and surface-level ⚡ My posts lacked clarity and depth ⚡ I ended up exhausted from overthinking every line What I learned? Creativity and execution use two different parts of your brain. When you ideate, you need freedom - space to wander, connect dots, and explore possibilities. When you create, you need structure, focus, precision, and decision-making. Trying to mix them is like pressing the gas and the brake at the same time. Here’s what I do instead 👇 Day 1: Ideation Mode - Dump every idea, headline, and thought into a notes app - No editing, no judgment, just pure creative flow Day 2: Creation Mode - Review those ideas - Refine the best ones into finished posts This separation made my content 10x easier to produce clearer, sharper, and more consistent. Now I have a running “idea bank,” so I’m never stuck staring at a blank screen again. If you’re struggling to post consistently, stop multitasking your creativity. Treat ideation and creation as two different games and you’ll start winning both. Do you plan your content this way? Or are you still mixing the two? PS: If you’re serious about building your personal brand and creating effortlessly, DM me let’s map your system.

"Effective brainstorming requires team members not to criticise each other's ideas, to allow freestyle thinking without fear of judgment." At least that's what's commonly believed. But a study finds that asking team members to brainstorm /and/ be free to "debate and even criticise each other's ideas" leads to more ideas being generated. The result held in both the US and France, despite different cultures. Potential reasons: 1️⃣ It allows people to express new ideas without worrying that they might be seen as a criticism of someone else's idea. 2️⃣ Highlighting that criticism is good for the group helps members understand that any criticism that arises is not personal. 3️⃣ Allowing freedom in discussion is itself liberating and promotes free thinking. By Charlan Jeanne Nemeth et al. https://lnkd.in/emrXDm-W

Ever wonder why brainstorming rarely leads to real action? Generating ideas is easy, but unless a group crosses some critical thresholds, those ideas never become a reality. To overcome this collective "thinking-doing gap", we need to overcome four challenges. Let's explore. 1. FOCUS: COLLECTIVE INTUITION Brainstorming generates numerous possibilities, but groups must quickly narrow their focus to one opportunity to pursue. They need to balance something important enough to motivate people with something feasible that can be started now. Balancing aspiration with practicality will keep the group from stalling out. To achieve this, we need to synthesize the group's collective intuition quickly through a transparent process that everyone can understand. 2. OUTCOMES: COLLECTIVE VISUALIZATION Once a group has set a priority, we need to translate that opportunity into a clear, measurable outcome. Lofty vision statements don’t inspire action. A shared, vivid picture of success, developed through a rapid process of collective visualization, creates alignment, ensuring everyone is heading in the same direction. 3. PATHWAYS: COLLECTIVE PLANNING A clear, shared outcome is only half the battle. The next step is building a practical path to get there. Because complex challenges are unpredictable, we must rely on experiments to chart the path. Guideposts or trail markers will help the group assess its progress, manage risk, and make adjustments. A flexible design for multiple experiments will enable continuous learning and adaptation through collective reflection. 4. COMMITMENT: COLLECTIVE LEARNING AND DOING Finally, we need to turn plans into action through concrete commitments. No "command and control" system will suffice. Instead of a single leader, we should design for shared, distributed leadership. We need clear and transparent commitments, so we can rely on mutual accountability to stay on track. We need a process with feedback loops, allowing us to learn and adjust. But that's not all. New collective habits of doing together will also need a process of peer-to-peer coaching. OTHER DESIGN CHALLENGES By crossing these four thresholds—focus, outcome, pathway, and commitment—groups can turn ideas into sustained collective action and tackle even our toughest challenges. But not just once. If we want a significant global impact, our solution must also be: >> Replicable, scalable, and simple enough to be sustainable.  >> Modular and flexible, allowing for customization in different situations.  >> Clear with terms that can cross organizational, scholarly, cultural, and language boundaries.  >> Use a visual language for clear communication.  >> Aligned closely with scholarly research, so we can explain why our solution works. Over 15 years at Purdue University, we successfully addressed these design challenges. The result: Strategic Doing. Now, it is spreading globally. Learn about our journey here: bit.ly/SDWiley

When your brain feels like it has 27 browser tabs open, try this 10-minute reset. This is my fastest way to get from spinning to one clear next move. Use it when you’re stuck, overthinking a client project, or starting from a blank page. 🦜 Step 1: Dictate (5–10 minutes) - Open ChatGPT on your phone and tap the mic (or use Voice Memo app). - Speak in full sentences. It's OK to ramble. Name the client, deliverable, blockers, half-ideas, worries. - End your recording with this line so AI knows what to do next: “That’s everything. Please sort what I just said into: (1) main themes, (2) decisions I need to make, and (3) one sensible next action.” 🧩 Step 2: Sort (1 minute) - If you used the voice memo app, paste the transcript into ChatGPT (iPhone now automatically provides transcripts, which is awesome!). - If you used the ChatGPT app, it will start doing it's thing. - You’ll get a short list of themes, a few decisions, and a single step you can take today. 🧵 Step 3: Pick one thread (2 minutes) - Scan the decisions. Choose the one that would unblock the most work. - Turn the suggested next action into a 25–30 minute task and put it on today’s plan. - Or if you need to work with the idea some more, get ChatGPT to help you unpack it further, review options, or turn it into a workable action plan. ❓ Why this works: - Talking is faster than typing. - Sometimes I think best when I'm out on a walk, which enables me to unload all my thoughts and ideas more effectively. - The “sort” instruction turns noise into buckets. - Choosing a single thread prevents you from rebuilding the mental knot. 🤔 Troubleshooting: - If the output feels vague, ask: “Make the next action smaller and more concrete.” - If it misses context, add 2–3 constraints (deadline, audience, tone) and rerun. - If you’re scattered, do a second 3-minute add-on and re-sort. 🧠 Alternate Prompt: If you forget how to end the voice recording (e.g., you're out on a walk and just want to talk it through for now), just type this prompt into the same chat once you're done talking (or once you're back home): “Turn this brain dump into: (1) 3–5 themes, (2) decisions I need to make with brief pros/cons, and (3) one next action I can finish in 25–30 minutes. Keep it concise and specific. If something’s missing, list the questions I should answer to move forward.” Enjoy!