Word Association

Choose an overriding theme (you could base this on your prospective target market or your area of expertise) – sum it up in a simple word/phrase and then have a massive brain dump of any words, phrases or ideas that come to mind. This is often better if you have two or more people to bounce ideas off…

I recommend using sticky notes and sticking them all over a wall. Then, once you’re done, take any down that jump out at you and then see how you can combine these ideas to make new connections. Pay attention to any new ideas that pop into your head too – that will be your unconscious mind making links you didn’t see by “trying” to be creative.

You’re not really aiming for a specific end product from this approach but you’ll be surprised what ideas seem to miraculously pop into your head when you do it!

Brainstorming

Pic by jurvetson

If you’re working alone or in a small group (3 or less) then I’d strongly encourage you to use Mind Mapping instead of Brainstorming. However, although it’s an old approach, nothing beats Brainstorming for collaborative creativity.

Here are my rules for getting the best out of Brainstorming sessions

1. Pose a central “question to be answered” or “outcome to achieve” like – “How many ways can an author make money from books?” or “We want at least 30 book title ideas to do with Publishing”
2. Choose one “scribe” or “facilitator” (it’s this person’s job to LISTEN carefully and WRITE down what people say)
3. Write down EXACTLY what people say – “Parrot Phrase” don’t “Para Phrase”
4. Put EVERY idea up – even if you think it’s stupid or a repeat
5. Nobody is allowed to discuss the merits (or not) of ideas going up – they can only add ideas – I like to ban the word “but” or “yes but” when doing this
6. Once all the ideas are up – find a person who’s very detail oriented and critical – and let them make a pros and cons list of all the ideas and rank them in order of importance