10 ways to Boost Business Brainstorming

1. Start the brainstorming session off with jokes to get people laughing. Your goal is to get everyone ready to brainstorm. Laughter has a way of relaxing people into the mood to generate ideas in abundance.
   
   
2. You need a good business brainstorming facilitator. This person may not be the best brainstormer around, but is excellent pulling ideas out of people. This person should be enthusiastic and excited for the session.
   
   
3. The atmosphere has to be right. You'll need to be in a comfortable setting with no distractions. No fears, or wants. Just relaxed. The state of mind that is perfect is a state of relaxed alertness. That is why a meeting like this should be done after breakfast and before lunch.
   
   
4. There is no bad idea, only better ones. If you want to get yourself and others to increase their brainstorming for your business, you have to be very open and accepting to all ideas. Never, ever criticize. Not even as a joke. Criticism chokes off mind creativity.
   
   
5. Trust your feelings. Say what's on your mind and make sure there is someone writing it all down. It helps to have an artist who can capture concepts in a drawing form.
   
   
6. Open your mind up and think outside the box. When you are being creative use mind game exercises. For example, what is the opposite of this idea or what if it was 100 times larger or smaller.
   
   
7. If there is a silence in the brainstorming session pull out "idea starters" that you have already made in preparation for silence. These sessions need to be fast, energetic and fun to maximize the output of the brainstorming.
   
   
8. After all ideas are written down. Then the JUDGE in us can judge all the brainstormed ideas. But only judge positively. Meaning, only talk about what is a really strong idea. Not what is a bad one.
   
   
9. Sift through the best ideas and narrow them down. Then take a break and come back to it. See if you still think the same way. Possible new ideas will crop up. Be open to anything. And accepting of everything.
   
   
10. Test your best ideas. Test them with your employees, friends, even a chosen outside test group. It's good to have confirmation that your best ideas to you, have merit by others, before you put more dollars behind it. Then take action.
    

If you need additional help with your brainstorming, shoot me an E-mail at cobyneill@hotmail.com or visit the website at www.cobyneillcreative.com