Online: Brainstorming techniques

Brainstorming is creative thinking

So, you have a problem. Most people will think about it for a bit, discuss it with others, start throwing around ideas and elaborate on some that come up. They then assume to have found the solution to their problem, quit looking further and feel they're done.

But, have you really considered all options? You could probably have put more effort into it and discovered new angles to explore. But that will only happen if you turn on your creative thinking, and turn off your natural tendency to stop searching, as soon as you have found a solution.

Continue exploring new ideas. No matter how funny, non-sensical, outlandish, not-feasible or out-of-the-box they may be. It's called diverging. Divergence is a brainstorming essential.

Three steps that facilitate a succesful brainstorming session

1. Formulate the question. To which questions do I want to find answers? 
2. Divergence: Come up with a lot of ideas. Set the bar high. Not ten, but thirty, fifty or a hundred ideas, without any judgment on whether or not they are feasible, good enough or fitting.
3. Convergence: Select the best ideas and shape and modify them so they answer your question.