BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming
Brainstorming means of generating ideas. Brainstorming can be used to
identify alternatives, obtain a complete list of items and to solve problems.
There are a variety of brainstorming techniques. The common principle of
brainstorming is to set aside the restrictive thinking processes so that many
ideas can be generated.

When to use brainstorming?

You can use brainstorming in a project when:

 Developing the solution definition, particularly in identifying alternative

solution.
 Identifying all potential risks on a project.
 Developing the work breakdown structure (identifying all the
deliverables and work items).
 Dealing with difficult problems that arise during the course of the
project.

Why use brainstorming techniques?

Brainstorming can:

 Break through traditional thinking about a problem.

 Generate new ways of thinking.
 Provide an environment for building on new ideas.
 Reduce the tendency to prematurely discard new ideas.
 Facilitate team building.
 Encourage team problem solving.

Brainstorming is not a structured meeting

Brainstorming is:

 Idea generation.
 Issue generation.
 Divergent thinking.
 Open format.

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 1

 BRAINSTORMING

The process of brainstorming

 The environment.
 Setting the scene.
 Rules for the session.
 Running the brainstorming session.
 Affinity analysis.
 Summary and further action.

A brainstorming technique
 Present the problem or opportunity for which brainstorming is being
applied.
 Allocate 3-5 minutes to write on the post-it notes as many ideas as
possible-one idea per note.
 Each person quickly writes their thoughts onto the post-it notes
regardless of how impractical, outrageous, extreme, crazy they may be
(do not filter the ideas).

BrainstormingThree Activities
1. Clustering
2. Listing
3. Freewriting

Clustering
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word in the center of
your paper.

2. Write down any sub-topics that are connected to that main topic. Draw
arrows to the sub-topics from the main topic.

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 2

 BRAINSTORMING

Transportation

3. If you have new ideas, connect those words to the appropriate sub-
topic.

Completed 1937

Scenic View

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 3

 BRAINSTORMING

Yellow

Good-
Sized

Volleyball
Soccer

Listing
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word or words at the top
of your paper.

2. Write down any word or phrase that might relate to your main topic
underneath. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. Your goal is to write
down as many ideas as quickly as possible.

Why I Want to Become a Nurse

 Like science

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 4

 BRAINSTORMING

 Like problem solving

 Many jobs available in nursing
 Good salary
 Like working in a hospital
 Want to help other people
 Challenging job
 Opportunities for promotion
 Interested in study of diseases
 Interested in study of human body
 Flexible hours
 Will always learn something new

How to be a Successful Language Learner

 Practice speaking with others

 Take classes

 Guess at the meanings of words

 Listen to radio or TV

 Observe others

 Set reasonable goals

 Don’t be afraid to experiment

 Study vocabulary in related topics

 Ask others to correct you

 Look for patterns in your errors

 Organize your study time

 Use special techniques to remember new words

 Ask for help when you don’t understand

 Review material regularly

 Use a dictionary

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 5

 BRAINSTORMING

 Choose a good textbook

Freewriting
1. Start with the main topic of your essay. Write that word or words at the
top of your paper.
2. Freewriting is like talking to yourself on paper. Write as much as you
can in connected sentences (not lists) about your topic. Write as quickly
as you can without stopping to think about grammar or organization.

My Favorite Book; My favorite book… I don’t know where to

start. I read so many books that are interesting that it’s hard to choose just
one. I guess I could start by talking about the kinds of books I really like. I
like biographies and autobiographies the best. I really enjoy reading about
another person’s life. One of my favorite books is called Roots by Alex
Haley. How the author was able to trace his family history all the way back
to Africa was amazing! Another book I really enjoyed was Carl Sandburg’s
biography of Abraham Lincoln. What an incredible president! There are
also some very interesting books about leaders like Napoleon, Churchill,
and Stalin. Well, I guess that gives me a few ideas about where I can start
on my topic.

A Problem I Have; I have of course many problems in my life

like everybody has, but right now I am feeling new problems like the
cultural shock. I got out of my country and came to study in the U.S.A. One
of the biggest problems is to make friends, to make or have the good old
friends I have back home. It’s so hard here- you don’t know how to act,
whether you should ask them their telephone number or wait for them to
do it, whether you should call them very often or not. Are they bothered by
my language problem? Can they not carry on a conversation with me
because they always talk about local or national subjects about which I am
not informed? This is really hard and sometimes makes me feel like a
stranger in a group where everybody is laughing and talking and they
supposedly were my friends.

Edited by; Wajad Marati Page 6