Preamble:
I find that I needed to improve at conducting meetings and discussions. A common kind of meeting required is a brainstorming session. However, I'm sure many people have experienced brainstorming sessions which seemed to be unfocused and resulted in a lack of actionable items.
Much thanks to Ronald Wong, for sharing his thoughts.
How to create a Structured Creative Brainstorming Session
Quality of session depends on the
Diversity of ideas generated
Quantity of ideas generated
Inclusive participation of all the individuals
For facilitator
Before the meeting
Send the agenda out with discussion items, directly responsible individual and timings, with sufficient buffer time
Send background material, if necessary
Prepare the meeting overview
Structure the meeting
Prepare 3 possible solutions/ ideas
During the meeting
Set the context for all participants: 5W, 1H
Set the groundrules
Only constructive comments
No distractions such as mobile phones
Be conscious of the discussion progress
Get everyone's buy-in and conclusion at every stage before moving on
Close the meeting by summarising all the points
Seat in a position such that you are able to see all participants and make sure your body posture is "open"
Techniques
To spur discussion - Ask "How" questions
To be inclusive - Maintain eye contact with everyone and ask everyone around the table to contribute
To draw participants who are drifting - Ask them for their opinion on a certain point
Use props such as the whiteboard and monitor screen
After the discussion
Send the minutes out, with tasklists
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