Facilitating a brainstorm - managing time

As Douglas Adams said, "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so". 

It may be an illusion, but time is the most expensive resource you use up while running a meeting or brainstorm. Think of all those expensive colleagues sitting round the table (or lolling on sofas, or stretched out on rugs in the park - where do you hold your brainstorms?). All watching the clock. All trusting that their time is appreciated, and being used well. 

The key to using time well is to have a plan, and stick to it. Sketch out an agenda that covers the key 'events' in the brainstorm - the introduction, the thinking part, the switching of teams, the harvesting of ideas, the summarising at the end. How long will each take? How much will you need to allow for  sessions that are going so well you that don't want to stop?

You needn't share the agenda in detail - although it is a good idea to give your participants a rough idea of where you're going and what you'll be doing. And give deadlines and outlines - saying things like "We'll now break into pairs for a twenty minute challenge". 

Stick to the deadlines. Don't wait for everyone to come back into the room (physically or metaphorically) on time - go get them. In fact, go get them five minutes early - so that they don't delay the re-start by deciding then to go to the loo!

Have the agenda in sight, and in mind, throughout the meeting. Try not to over-run - if you think you might, pick up the pace. 

Keep the tempo up - this raises the energy in the room and seems to contribute to quicker thinking. It also stops everyone taking time for idea evaluation instead of idea generation (evaluate later is one of the golden rules of creative thinking). 

And if you want to earn the undying admiration and love of all concerned, finish ten minutes early. Every time a meeting finishes early, a lovely fluffy kitten is born. 

Facilitating a brainstorm - managing participants

Do you ever get the feeling that managing meetings would be easy - if it wasn't for the people involved?

I think we've all been there. But handling people - even problem participants - is easy when you know how. You need to think about the problem in advance, learn a few engagement techniques - and then implement them as the meeting or brainstorm progresses.

There are certain types of "problem participants" who occur all too often:

• The motormouth, who wants to dominate every conversation
• The wallflower, who doesn't want to talk at all
• The person who seems only to see the negative in everything
• The aggressive person, who delights in personal criticism and attacks (but only on others)
• The person who is always late and perpetually distracted

In the first instance, agree groundrules in advance - and keep them on display. These should include the rule  that the times of the brainstorm will be honoured, that all attendees are expected to participate, and that only one person should talk at one time (the "one singer, one song" rule). 

In addition, almost all "problem" behaviours can be handled by facilitation techniques. 

In order of escalation they are: 

1. Mention their name (most people respond and attend when they hear their own name)
2. Move towards them
3. Put a hand on their shoulder (but be aware of cultural issues which discourage touching) and
4. Call a coffee or natural break, and have a word with the person causing the problem.

In the last instance, if their behaviour is truly breaking up the brainstorm, explain the problem and ask them to leave the meeting if they cannot behave in a way that will contribute to achieving what the meeting needs to. 

In addition, be aware that people have different ways of engaging at work. Their personalities differ, and the way they work and communicate with other people can differ dramatically. There are several ways of understanding different personality styles -  from Belbin and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), to NLP Representational Styles (Auditory, Visual, Kinaesthetic etc) and the Insights Colour system.

The sense behind each of them is that if you understand your own "type", and can flex to communicate in the way others prefer, you'll have much more success in communicating with them.

The system I use is Social Styles, with the primary types of Driver, Analytical, Amiable and Expressive. I find it simple to understand and translate into action, and I use it to understand any type of communication issue and any type of audience.

It's worth trying to work with these communication systems - check them out online, or talk to your HR colleagues.

Facilitating a brainstorm - managing the process

The second thing to think about in facilitating a brainstorm, idea-generation or any other kind of meeting, is managing the process. (For part one of this series, see "Managing the Event" below).

Having a process in mind will allow you to know where you are, keep the session buzzing, and help you manage the session towards the required outcome, whether that be a raft of ideas or an agreed plan of action. It's not about restricting the natural flow of the meeting, but more that a process or structure will help people concentrate on doing the right things at the right stage of the session. 

Well begun is half done as Mary Poppins said. So starting the session well will pay dividends in participation and commitment. Get everyone together, and make sure you give them a heart-felt welcome and thank you for coming. Then make sure you make a statement of objective (what do we want the meeting to achieve), requirements (in what format do we want the outputs - outline ideas, agreed plans, recommendations for others?) and time - when will the session end? 

Make an agreement, too, on ground-rules. This will make it easier for you to 'police' the session, and to bring people back when the meeting strays off-track. This should include "No judging or criticising ideas at this point" and also what to do with mobile phones. My own approach is often to have phones off, but allow access to them at regular intervals. Of course, if anyone really must have their phone on, then you really must allow it!

What's YOUR problem? Before the idea generation begins, it's worth restating the challenge, problem or brief  you are there to answer. But please, don't read out (or distribute) a closely typed, multi-page written brief, Make your statement of the challenge short, sharp and to the point. The aim is to create, not sedate.

Ready? Steady? THINK! Now you are into the meaty part of the session, getting them thinking, talking, swapping ideas, linking ideas together, and building on each others' ideas. Keep the energy up by switching the group around - work them in pairs, then altogether. 

Make sure that every idea is being captured (have post-it notes, flipcharts and markers in abundance!). 

Use creative thinking tools and techniques (like Speedthinking, Reframing and Unconnecting on my Headsurfing website).

And keep an eye open for people judging and evaluating ideas instead of generating them. Watch out for phrases like "We don't have the budget" or "I can't see how that would work". Or, of course "That's complete rubbish. Just leave the thinking to me"!

It's harvest time. Collect all the ideas that have been generated. At this point, you could start to evaluate and judge the ideas - perhaps splitting them into groups of "definite", "potential" and "not at this stage". 

You might want to involve the participants, using some simple voting system such as giving them five 'votes' to split as they like. 

However, don't close off the decision making process here - or, indeed, the idea generation process. There's every chance that you - or some of your participants - will continue to have great ideas once the meeting is over. Make sure they are aware of this - and ask them to make sure they write any ideas down and pass them back in to the process later.

Tell them what's next. Many people feel frustrated at a lack of engagement following the session. So let them know what the plan is for "what's next" - and if at all possible, report back to them with what happens to all those great ideas.

Managing the process well can keep you on track, on brief, and on target to achieve your objectives. In the next part of this series, I'll help you deal with the human side of the session - Managing People.

Open Workshop on HeadSurfing techniques for creative thinking - Edinburgh, 24th June

Would you like to learn highly effective tools and techniques to help you and your team generate more ideas - and better ideas?

Could you or your team benefit from a dose of creative freshness? Would you like them to re-energise and re-engage?

If so, you should come along (or send some of your team along) to an open workshop I'm running in Edinburgh on 24th June. 

The course will be a great grounding in how to think more creatively and more productively. Using the tools and techniques of my own HeadSurfing programme - all based on the secret attitudes, behaviours and actions of the highly creative people I have worked with and studied, you'll learn:

• The Cultural Conditions of Creativity (get these right and you're on your way to a culture that encourages ideas and engagement - get them wrong and you'll stifle any ideas your team might have had).
• A superb technique for generating dozens of ideas in a very short time - ideal when you're up against a tight deadline or a demanding brief!
• How to interrogate and reframe the challenge to change the way you think.
• How to facilitate and run a brainstorm.
• Dramatic techniques to help you and your team change the direction of your thinking (helping you avoid the predictable and the "same old same old").
• Presenting ideas and creative proposals.
• Action Planning and getting it done.

... along with a host of other techniques, tips and suggestions for opening yourself and your team to creativity.

The full-day course, to be held in central Edinburgh on 24th June, is available for £190 plus VAT (total £228) per person. For what you'll get out of this session, that's great value. Strike that, ridiculous value!

If you'd like to book a place, contact me through the website here: HeadSurfing Website

Facilitating a brainstorm - managing the event

A skilled facilitator can make a huge difference to the success (or otherwise) of a brainstorm or creative thinking session - and this starts with how the event is set up. 

Once you have the objectives of the session agreed, you can start planning it. 

The first thing to think about is timing. Of course, this may be more fixed than you'd like - the only day people are available, or by the demands of the job (for example, if you have to do it within the next couple of days to have the ideas ready by a certain time). 

But if you can be more flexible, think about the best day of the week. Mondays for many organisations are a no-no - Thursdays and Fridays are often best. Consider the availability of the people you'd like to involve, even the best time of day. 

I like to choose either early morning (before people have been caught up in day-to-day problems) or late afternoon (but use energisers and hands-on exercises to keep post-lunch energy levels up). 

How long should the session last? Anything from an hour to a day or two - as long as you are creative about the agenda (yes, even brainstorms should have an agenda or plan, even if it's only shared by the facilitator and problem-owner).

Next is venue. My preference would always be to go off-site, if only because in my experience the simple act of changing environment changes thinking. However, unless you can "borrow" another building or meeting room, going off-site will almost inevitably cost money.

But whether you stay in-house or go off-site, I'd implore you to be creative about the venue too. 

Is there natural light? Can you get up and move around? Can you be flexible with the layout of the rooms? Is it fit for purpose? In other words, does it have the right AV or can you take your own? Does it have flipcharts and white-boards if you need them? Are there areas which let you break the team up into smaller thinking groups? And no, you don't need expensive breakout rooms, just different areas like a lounge, bar, or garden. 

Think about attendees - who must attend? Who else could you invite - clients or customers? People from other teams? Outside experts? And about how you'll invite them, and what you'd like them to do in advance of the session. 

And finally, start thinking about what you'll need for the session itself - how will you inspire great thinking? Take a look at "How to Headsurf" at www.headsurfing.com for some ideas. Think about music, exercises, and what stimulus you might use to provoke creative thinking. 

Now all you have to do is manage the process, manage the people, manage timing and manage the outcome - but more on those in my next blog.

Presentation tip - play it, don't say it

This week I have a special guest at the Professional Speakers Chapter I run – John Cremer from Brighton.

John runs The Maydays, one of the UK’s leading improvisational comedy groups – I have performed with them quite a few times, and enjoyed (almost) every second!

I saw him speak in South Africa recently, and was struck with how good he is at translating what he’s saying into what he’s doing.

Of course, John has an acting background, but anyone, yes anyone, can put more performance and action into their presentations – and you should try it.

I call it "play it, don't say it". Look for passages in your presentation where you are describing a scene, or telling a story, and use movement, body language, facial expression to bring the piece alive.

Watch friends telling stories in the pub – they become animated, adding gestures, pulling faces, and acting out what actually happened. Try the same in your next presentation – bringing your talk alive will bring your audience alive too.

Creativity Tip - Improve your facilitation skills

I’ve been working with a great new client over the last couple of weeks – the makers of three (if not four) of my favourite whiskies.

As well as doing the opening keynote at their conference (which was a blast) they asked me to train some of their key staff in facilitating brainstorms – so that during the conference we could run several creative thinking sessions simultaneously, getting the most out of them.

The ability to run a meeting properly is a great skill to have – it cuts down on wasted time, keeps energy levels up, and helps your colleagues to look forward to meetings rather than hate them.

The first tip I’d give you is that The facilitator’s key responsibility is to ensure the meeting achieves its objectives.

There’s no other point to facilitating – indeed, there’s no other point to any meeting.

Of course, step one is to have objectives in the first place. Ever been to a meeting that seemed to have no objective, no process, and no point? Thought so.

I’ll put up the key tasks of the facilitator – managing the meeting, managing people and managing process included – as well as tips and strategies for success on this blog over the next couple of weeks.

To learn the skills you need to get the most out of your sessions, keep reading the tips.