Productivity tips: how to get the most out of your brainstorming session

Brainstorming sessions bring a ton of creative ideas to the table. We break down the right combination of structure and freedom to nail every meeting.
June 12, 2019

Collaboration is at the heart of any successful business. Working closely with your team to come up with ideas to move your business forward and the projects that will get you there is the most effective way to work. Taking advantage of collaboration tools is key to boosting efficiency - it makes things a lot easier. Productivity is key to your business' success - your brainstorming sessions are useless without structure and leadership. Want to get the most out of your brainstorming session? Say no more.

 

The art of brainstorming

What's the best way to brainstorm ideas for your business? Cramming your team into a conference room and letting chaos ensue isn't the most productive way. Brainstorms - the art of coming together to collaborate on business ideas with your colleagues - can be messy and unproductive if they don't have structure. The best ideas almost always happen when a group of people creates them together, but that doesn't mean putting all your creative minds in one place and letting them shout into the void.

If brainstorming is starting to feel like a waste of time and a chore, then you're not doing it right. Bring some organization and productivity to your brainstorming efforts with the following hacks.

Take the lead

Without strong leadership, an unstructured brainstorm can turn into a shouting match faster than you can say, 'Who's got a good idea?' You need someone to steer the ship when sharing your ideas; if not, you risk spending an hour shouting into the conference-calling equipment and coming out with one half-baked, terrible idea and a bunch of angry faces. Nominate a mediator to lead the discussion, and make sure that person allows for everyone to share their ideas.

Foster inclusion

No idea is a bad idea: in brainstorming sessions the goal is quantity, not quality. Ensure everyone has their say by making time for all participants to share their ideas - sometimes the best ideas come from really obscure places. With solid structure and a system that lets everyone share their input, you'll see an increase in valuable ideation.

 

Bring together group ideas to create the best brainstorm

 

One way to make sure everyone participates is by transcribing your brainstorm sessions with automatic transcription software from Trint. With Trint, no brain goes to waste: transcription is done with the help of automation and AI so no member of your creative team is bogged down with typing up notes from the sessions. This filters down into a range of creative workflows across your business - with all your creative brains engaged with the task at hand a lot more will get done.

Use technology

Productive brainstorms are no longer limited by geography. Take advantage of collaborative tools to include team members from all territories in your session. Having the UK team dial in on a brainstorm that's relevant to your audience across the pond is good business sense. Brainstorming tech doesn't stop at conference calling, either: use Trint's intelligent platform to transcribe recordings of your brainstorm. Sharing transcripts of the session with the team allows for more conversation around important ideas - you can even search for your favorite topics and keywords within meeting transcripts.

Get feedback

Brainstorms are at their best when there's plenty of brainpower involved - get as many heads in the game as possible. This doesn't mean cramming everyone from your financial controller to the office receptionist into a room to shoot the breeze, it means presenting your core ideas to key stakeholders to get their opinions. Ideation needs fresh eyes and ears to be its most effective - use your transcripts of brainstorming sessions to create a run-down of key ideas and get feedback where possible.

 

The best ideas bring together groups for collaboration

 

Get out of your comfort zone

Think about your meeting rooms. Are they the best places to grow and foster the creative ideas that will help grow your business? Creativity is stimulated by your surroundings, so don't hesitate to shake things up when it comes to your brainstorms. Find new places to hold creative ideation sessions and allow the world around you to power your brainstorming - just be sure to keep recordings for later transcriptions so all that creativity can be taken indoors and worked into actionable project plans.

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Recording and transcribing your brainstorms is the key to making sure your creativity lives on after you leave the workroom. Thanks to collaboration tools from Trint, your team can access transcripts of your brainstorming sessions, collaborating on the further development of their creative ideas and forming the strategies that will put creativity into action.

 

Harnessing the power of technology liberates your brainstorms and boosts your team's productivity to no end. Try Trint today and unleash your ideas on the world: 

 

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