Brainwriting

Summary

This video introduces 'brain writing,' a creative problem-solving technique developed by Dr. Horst Geschke. Each participant writes three ideas for addressing a challenge on a grid of nine boxes, one idea per box. After completing three ideas, participants exchange their sheets with others to build on the existing ideas. The process repeats until each sheet contains nine ideas, fostering collaboration and creativity. The technique is silent and individual, with group discussion encouraged afterward to refine ideas and choose the best ones for further development through methods like dot voting.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Brain writing is a creative problem-solving technique developed by Dr. Horst Geschke.
• 📝 Each group member receives a piece of paper with a challenge or problem written at the top.
• 🔲 Participants create a grid of nine boxes (3 rows, 3 columns) on their paper.
• 🤫 Brain writing is a silent individual exercise, with no group discussion involved.
• 💡 Each participant writes their first three ideas for solving the challenge in the first three boxes.
• 🔄 After completing three ideas, participants swap papers with someone else who also has three ideas.
• 🛠️ The new person builds on the first three ideas, adding or modifying them in the next three boxes.
• 🔄 The process repeats, swapping papers again, allowing others to build on six existing ideas.
• ✨ By the end of the process, each person has a sheet with nine different ideas for the challenge.
• 🎯 A convergent technique like dot voting can be used to choose which ideas the group will focus on further.

Q & A

What is 'brain writing' and where does the concept come from?

Brain writing is a creative technique for generating ideas in a group setting. It was developed by Dr. Horst Geschke.

How does the brain writing process start?

The process starts by giving each participant a piece of paper with a grid of nine boxes. They write the creative challenge at the top of the paper.

What should participants do after receiving their papers?

Each participant individually writes their first idea in the first box, their second idea in the second box, and their third idea in the third box. The exercise is done silently.

What happens after participants finish writing three ideas?

Once participants have written three ideas, they swap their paper with someone else who has also completed three ideas.

What should participants do after swapping papers?

After swapping, participants read the other person's ideas and build on them. They add to or modify the first, second, and third ideas.

What is the goal of swapping papers multiple times?

The goal of swapping papers is to build on and expand others' ideas, leading to the generation of a total of nine ideas on each sheet.

What happens once the brain writing process is complete?

After everyone has generated nine ideas, the group may use a technique like dot voting to select the most promising ideas for further development.

How does brain writing differ from traditional brainstorming?

Unlike traditional brainstorming, brain writing is done in silence and individually, which prevents dominant voices from overshadowing quieter participants.

What is the benefit of using the grid structure in brain writing?

The grid structure encourages participants to come up with multiple ideas and iteratively build on others' thoughts, promoting deeper creativity.

Where can more information about Dr. Geschke's work and brain writing be found?

More information can be found on Dr. Geschke's website, and additional techniques can be explored by following the speaker on Twitter.