process with one last question, like,
“Describe your favorite childhood
vacation story.” This game serves
two purposes: It forces people to
think about things beyond their
normal work thoughts, and the brief
conversations make people more
comfortable with each other.
2. Scrap paper poetry. Have each member of your group write 10 random
words on scraps of paper, one word
per scrap. Put all the scraps into a
bowl, then have each person pull out
10 scraps and arrange them into a
rough “poem.” No extra words are
allowed. Go around the room and
have each person read his or her
poem aloud. The poems will not
win Pulitzer Prizes, but the results
often are amazing. This game serves
the dual purpose of stretching the
imagination — how does this word
possibly fit into the mix? — and
encouraging each participant to
speak in front of the group.
Follow Three Basic Brain- storming Rules
4
Before you start the actual brainstorming session, make sure everyone
knows three rules:
1. Everybody must
participate.
2. Every idea is a
good one.
That means no criticizing
ideas — ever.
3. No analysis is
allowed during the
brainstorm.
This is a time for suggesting
ideas and building on them;
scrutinizing them comes
later.
