Posted on: 02 October, 2002

Author: Virginia Reeves

This powerful ... for ... and idea ... puts youin touch with ... ... by tapping into ideas that mightbe buried or just waiting on the edge to be ... This powerful technique for problem-solving and idea generation puts youin touch with imaginative capabilities by tapping into ideas that mightbe buried or just waiting on the edge to be released.The primary purposes of gathering to brainstorm are to take a flexiblelook at solving a problem, overcoming an obstacle, creating a plan for anew endeavor, and overall increasing the power of teamwork.With greater openness - communication and cooperation among theparticipants tends to increase. More than one possibility, solution, orperspective is put forth which enhances the probability that a betterend product or service will result.Once people are encouraged to share ideas without fear or censure,judgment, or immediate evaluation - creative abilities flourish. Thequality of ideas rises and one idea tends to trigger another. This isoften referred to as synergy. It is also good to include people fromseveral arenas to gain more variety.Too often, in work and community organizations, the people who will bedirectly affected by a change are not asked to participate in theplanning stages. This could lead to an end result that may not be aseffective as it could have been - or worse - may be resented because itis impractical or because of it being viewed as a forcedimplementation. This certainly will not lead to a smooth transition orgood morale.Overcoming resistance to change is enhanced when more people have astake in the planning and outcome. A stronger feeling of ownershipemerges which leads to an easier and more successful implementation.Communication skills are improved during brainstorming sessions asparticipants articulate their thoughts and feelings. Keeping track ofthis output is important. If ideas are not written down they are tooeasily forgotten. Seeing ideas together can lead people to see how twoor more may work in conjunction with another. Many useful ideas aregenerated that may not be used for the current project but could proveuseful for later consideration or with other endeavors.Brainstorming is wide open to interpretation and experimentation - letyour mind play with ideas rather than fighting them or applying too muchlogic. Make replies to specific questions short - simply convey themain idea. After several rounds have taken place, group the ideas intocategories and then start pursing how they can best be used.Sessions using these brainstorming practices can be looked at with asense of pleasure and productivity if handled in the spirit of people atall levels working together. Generating additional thoughts gets theflow going towards the creation and implementation of whatever you areworking on, dreaming of, or playing with.Instead of making one line resolutions for the new year - trybrainstorming for more options and possibilities to achieving that whichyou seek. May each year bring you even more success, fun, andsynergistic projects and relationships. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com