Brainstorming Technique as an Alternative Form of Discussion

Whatever your job, the ability to discuss is a basic skill that must be possessed. Discussions help you process information, but some people may not be well suited to having discussions.

Regardless of how smart and intelligent someone is, new ideas can be clouded by the collective knowledge of the team. The good news is discussion isn't the only thought-sharing technique you can use. You can improve your analytical skills through various alternative ways of discussion.

How to Brainstorm for Discussion

Group discussions often fail to get the whole team involved, in contrast to brainstorming. No matter how small an idea is, brainstorming ensures that all members are involved.

To solve problems and generate innovative ideas, brainstorming encourages open and ongoing collaboration. Therefore, use the following brainstorming techniques as alternative discussions:

1. SWOT analysis

When you want to make a decision, try to do a strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats analysis or the usual SWOT. This is done to consider the possibilities or pros and cons that will occur if the decision is taken.

Every time you brainstorm an idea, it means that you have analyzed these four things. For example, if you were discussing buying a car, the SWOT would look like this:

• strengths: smarter than a used car, new technology, nicer to look at, comes with a warranty, and lower interest rates.
• Weaknesses: may be more expensive, most new cars depreciate faster than used cars, higher recall and insurance potential.
• opportunities: looks luxurious, and will feel more comfortable driving long distances in a new car.
• threats: potential for a redesign in the following year.

2. Mind mapping

As the name suggests, mind mapping is an effective way to 'map out' your ideas. When creating a mind map, start with the main idea. In creative ways, you can divide the main or central idea into various branches.

Later, the ideas that come out of the main idea are called "branches" which are more conical so that you will be more focused. The number is also not limited because in the end it will refer to the main idea. Although it is very similar to a mind map, it is often considered easier and helps you focus more on your main goals.

3. Starbursts

Starbursting is another of the most widely used visual-based brainstorming techniques. Focusing on six main categories, this technique serves to develop a business strategy around a new product or service. The six categories describe the 5W+1H: who, what, where, when, why and how.

For details from this category, it's up to you and the team. You have lots of space for each category. Fill in the details of each category until you think it's enough. Therefore, don't limit yourself to one answer per category. Later, these six categories form star points with a product or service in the middle.

4. Brain writing

It doesn't require artistry, models, or other excess categories, brainwriting only requires you to write and share. Here, you start by writing a business opportunity or idea on a piece of paper. You will pass the paper to the next person in the room.

That person then reads the idea silently, after that he will add ideas related to the idea, and so on. Once this process is complete, and everyone has added their thoughts to the draft ideas, you have opened up an opportunity for discussion about these ideas. Compared to other brainstorming techniques, this technique has several benefits, namely:

• when writing, ideas will not be judged;
• allows everyone in the room to be heard;
• the accessibility of written ideas, potentially generating more solutions;

Giving everyone a chance to contribute to finding solutions, this technique is especially helpful for introverts who often feel left out during meetings.

5. Six Thinking Hats

To be able to think about problem solving, in this technique you are advised to 'put on' a thinking hat. Not only using one hat metaphorical thinking, this technique has six individual thoughts representing different perspectives.

1. Blue hat: Serves as a conversation leader who will control the dialogue and push ideas when discussions stall
2. Black hat: Symbolized as a person who only thinks about negative things, usually business thinkers who look for potential risks and pitfalls in certain decisions
3. Red hat: You have an emotional side that will affect the way you think. Red hat represents emotional thinking by looking at problems and following instinctive tendencies. To help bridge the gap between the different hats, use red hat to be able to understand the emotion behind certain decisions.
4. Yellow hat: in contrast to black hats who think cynically, yellow hats are positive thinkers who will help you find value in certain decisions by showing positive potential
5. Green hat: creative thinking that has a way of thinking outside the box and leads to new ways of solving problems.
6. White hat: offer solutions and criticism based on data and prior knowledge. Therefore, the white hat is called the analytical thinker hat.

There are various alternative techniques in discussing. All of them are used to help you see things from all different angles and perspectives. Under these conditions, both managers and employees play an important role in building quality brainstorming in the workplace.