So you're ready to start a brain storming session. From Andrea's lesson, you know that brainstorming will help generate new ideas or solve issues. And form Jake, we've seen that to work through a problem it may take more than one session. But what are some of the specific words and phrases to use to get your brainstorming session started, to keep it going, and to wrap it up? Brainstorm is a fun word to think about, visually. It's a storm in your brain. But think of the storm as a happy storm, one that is bringing much needed rain to a land that has had drought. It is the storm that is watering farmers crops not a torrential thunder storm that destroys and causes everyone to leave angry or upset. When getting started in a brain storming session, after setting the ground rules to where there's an understanding that all ideas will be respected. It's best, like Andrea said, to start with your goals of the brain storming session. This is often called the problem statement. Phrases that work best to introduce your problem are, the objective of this meeting is, or today we'll explore the possibility of. In the hybrid model that Andrea discussed, group members are encouraged to think independently first and then rejoin as a group. Questions or phrases to use to encourage some of the quieter, shy people to talk are to call that person by name and invite them to share. For example, Judy, what were the ideas you listed? Also, be sure that at least one idea or thought gets written down from each person or is visually seen sometime during the meeting. This will help group members feel validated and will be motivated to share more. Another trick is to call on a specific person and ask John, what's an idea you like from the list? And the reason why you like it. Compliments also go a long way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Or I haven't thought of the solution in that way before. Now, what are the phrases we can use to handle the blockers and the divers? During a brainstorming session, your blockers are the ones who shut down or block others ideas, before even letting them be explored. We see this happen with Elizabeth, when during the brainstorming session, Karen suggests using a color like white smile. And Elizabeth shuts her down by saying, well that's too obvious. Being a blocker can happen to the best of us. But here are phrases to use to block the blockers. I would be interested to hear what others think about this. Or, what are the strengths of this idea? You can even ask the blocker directly. What causes you concern about this idea? Your divers are the opposite of the blockers. Divers want to dive way too deep into the topic and solve all problems in one sitting. They may go off on tangents from the goals of the brainstorming session. To help keep the divers on track you can say phrases like, what do Joe's comments bring to mind for you in relation to our problem or the goal of the meeting? You could also try a question like, how do others feel about this? Or, we heard Bob say this. What are some other opinions? One suggestion is to give everyone in attendance at the brainstorming sessions a ticket to talk. This can be done lightly and in good humor, but can also be effective to get someone to stop talking. You can say, Linda, looks like your minute is over with your ticket to talk. We better move on to the next part of our discussion. These last set of phrases and questions are used to help close, end, or wrap up your brainstorming session. You should always plan for follow up, whether it be another meeting, in an email, or through a survey. Give the group members a summary or recap of the meeting. We see Jake say thanks for participating today. I feel like we've made progress in our decision towards this. To recap, let's remember this. Also, for further follow up, we'll have a meeting next week. Or you'll receive a survey to vote on the best idea for this. So what are the takeaways from this lesson? For brainstorming sessions, it's important to use phrasing that will keep your group members focused on the goal or the problem of the meeting. Use compliments, and phrases such as, thanks for sharing your thoughts, to keep a pleasant and motivating atmosphere in the room. Call on those who haven't had a chance to share their thoughts by name. With blockers, find ways to encourage the rest of the group to keep sharing by saying, I would be interested to hear what others think about this. With divers a phrase that may work is, what do those comments bring to mind in terms of our goals for this brainstorming session? Last, to close or wrap up use phrases to recap or summarize and always give a method of following up. Brainstorming sessions can be very full of creativity and productivity if planned for and structured carefully. Thanks for watching English for Marketing and Sales. See you soon.
