Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Create a step-by-step plan
• Part 2 of 3: Getting inspiration
• Part 3 of 3: Brainstorming techniques
• Tips
• Warnings

Brainstorming is one of the most widely used tools to support the loosely developing new ideas. Brainstorming is useful in many situations where creative, cognitive thinking is required. Whether you have an idea for a new product for your business or want to come up with a concept for your next oil painting, this wikiHow article can help get those creative juices flowing. Just start at Step 1.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Create a step-by-step plan

1. Determine your goal. Before you start looking at what you will have to do, it is important to know what you want to achieve. This can give you a good starting point, some kind of light at the end of the tunnel.
   • Do you want to brainstorm about your company?
   • Are you trying to come up with a new idea for your next work of art?
   • Maybe you are looking for an idea for an article to write?
2. Know the requirements. If you have a teacher, boss, client, or someone else who is going to review your work, make sure you know exactly what they expect or need. If that does not work, then determine within which boundaries you have to work and what the final product must achieve. While deviating from the requirements can sometimes result in a better experience or product, knowing the limitations will give you a good framework to get started.
   • For example, is there a limited budget?
   • Are you only allowed to use certain materials?
   • Does the project have to be completed within a certain time?
3. Make a list of assumptions. You will of course assume certain things with regard to the project. What are people looking for? What are your limitations? What is acceptable or common? What will it look like? Make a list of these principles so that you can use them as a basis on which to continue embroidering.
   • In an art project, for example, you can assume that people are looking for a specific color scheme that matches the theme of an exhibition.
   • In a business project, we might assume that customers want a specific thing that the competitor's product cannot provide.
4. See what you need to work with. Look objectively at what you have done in the past, what you have already done, and what resources are available. With this you indicate some limitations to work with.
   • What kind of materials can you use?
   • Which materials have you not used for a long time or with which people have you not worked together for a while?
   • What did you try last year and how can you improve it?
   • Ask others for their opinion.

Part 2 of 3: Getting inspiration

1. Do some research. Research what people working on similar projects have done. Google, Startpage or any other search engine is your friend in this adventure. Not to copy others, but to discover where their ideas fall short or which parts of their project could complement yours.
2. See what the innovators are doing. Once you know what the so-we-do-it-doers are always up to, try to find out what the innovators are doing. Look for the latest and cutting edge ideas or techniques that others are experimenting with. Maybe you can do similar experiments! Such innovation can set you apart from the crowd, making what you do memorable and engaging.
3. Go somewhere. Step out of your normal environment. This is a great way to break free from standard practice and start thinking about things you have never thought of before. Go for a walk, to a local craft or farmers market, or sit down and work in a cafe for a while. Any change of scenery can help you to think in a different way.
4. Keep a diary next to your bed. A water-resistant scratch pad in the bathroom can also be an option. Good ideas often come up secretly when we are engaged in such activities, but they quickly get lost because of whatever you are doing. By having pen and paper at hand, you can quickly write down what you just thought about before it evaporates again!
5. Take breaks! It's important to pause now and then so that your brain stays clear of negative circle thoughts. Often, after a long time, you will think in vain, focusing too much on the fact that you cannot get anywhere, making it impossible to really think properly.
   • Eat a healthy snack, catch up with a colleague, or do a short household chore (such as washing the dishes).
6. Exclude criticism. Criticism is not useful during brainstorming. You need the freedom of minimal boundaries to come up with new ideas. Let go of the critical attitude and you finally have a long list of possibilities.
   • If you are brainstorming with other people, you will need to remind some people to keep their negative opinions to themselves until you are done with the session.

Part 3 of 3: Brainstorming techniques

1. Warm yourself up. Don't try to start brainstorming from a cold start. This is like sprinting without going for a jog first! Do a short exercise that can get your head into that state, such as making a menu plan or wish list of things you want to accomplish at work, school, or whatever you do.
2. Change your perspective. Put yourself in the competitor's shoes, see what you're doing now, and figure out how to be better than you are. How do they view what you do and do it better? What would they change? What is the next thing they are going to do?
3. Introduce barriers. New obstacles on your way to the goal, such as a lower budget, a new deadline, or a specific material to use, can make you more creative and innovative. It can even ensure that you get ideas even if you haven't succeeded before.
4. Create a mind map. Mind mapping is one of the most popular brainstorming techniques. One way to do this is to write down an idea (or several!) On a card. Pin the card on a board and build on that idea. Write down every little thing you can think of and start connecting ideas.
5. Creating categories of ideas. Create three categories: Easy, Hard, and Crazy Ideas, Ideas. Try to come up with at least 5 ideas per category. Most of the time, the ideas that we can't do anything with will actually lead us to the ones that are useful.
6. Write a poem, analysis or review. Write a poem that describes what you are trying to do. You can also do a theoretical analysis or a review of the thing you are trying to create. By sketching the outline of what you want to achieve with the project, it can be easier to come up with something so that you can actually do it.
7. Bring an old technique into the new time. Take something you've done before, a long time ago, and try to figure out a way to improve it. You can also take old concepts that don't belong to you and come up with a way to renew them. For example, Twitter was essentially a kind of telegraph for the Internet. Some of the most popular products today use classic designs.
8. Use an online idea generator. These can be very useful to get you started, even if you're just using them as a warm-up. Do not feel burdened or bound by the ideas they generate, but use them as a starting point. Try the following:
   • http://ideagenerator.creativitygames.net/
   • http://www.lib.odu.edu/researchassistance/ideagenerator/
   • http://www.afflated.org/
9. Keep asking questions. Always. Ask questions about the people you're brainstorming with. Ask questions about your family and friends. Questions help us to think carefully about those things that we may have overlooked. Ask detailed questions that get to the heart of the matter. And don't settle for the short, obvious answer.
   • Why do I want to paint with oil paint?
   • Why does my customer want this product?
10. Do not waste your time. There are tons of different exercises, such as mind maps, that can be really helpful. But often they are also a distraction and can keep you from work. Don't waste too much time on it and instead try to get started with the real thing as soon as possible.
11. Get some free writing. Free writing means starting to write and never ending. This also has to do with free association, where you follow the natural stream of thought instead of trying to direct it. Just start writing down a sentence that has something to do with the topic you're brainstorming about, then let go of the wheel, writing down every word that squeezes its way up through your inner dialogue, without stopping to after. thinking. You never know where it will lead you!

Tips

• Keep your notes because you never know when you might need them.
• Don't dismiss an idea right away. Keep writing and see where your thoughts take you.
• Brainstorming is an exercise without censorship. While brainstorming, try not to make any corrections or else your essay will not work out.
• Try brainstorming with a friend. They may have different ideas and the outcome of this collaboration could be a lot better, and you can help them too!
• Don't be afraid to let your thoughts go in all directions.
• While brainstorming, it can help to listen to classical music or jazz, or any other music with no lyrics (otherwise the words may be distracting from what you are thinking of yourself).
• Play an imagination game. Look at something and try to associate something else with it. And then something else again with the second thing. For example: apple → banana → banana peel → slapstick → funny → clown → circus → lion, etc.! Just give it a try.
• Brainstorming can be very difficult during the first few sessions, but don't give up! If it doesn't work, try again.
• Extra writing utensils along with enough paper are needed to keep going without interruption.
• As noted above, try sticky notes. Anytime you think about something (anything!), Write it down and stick the note where you can see it. You never know when you can use it.
• Keep brainstorming, even if you come across a good idea at the beginning; you never know if an even better idea will come up.

Warnings

• Brainstorming can be very frustrating at times, so take a break from time to time.
• Brainstorming won't break through a persistent writer's block, but it can give you a mental warm-up and an idea of ​​where to write.