Brainstorm — for facilitators

Samvinas

• Set a clear, open Prompt — the stem depends on where you are in the process: "I wish…" / "It would be great if…" for surfacing goals early on; "How might we…?" / "In what ways might we…?" for generating ideas against a chosen problem; "What might be all the…?" to widen a hunt.
• Keep it visible and unlocked while ideas flow. Encourage quantity out loud.
• Watch the list; if it stalls, offer a fresh angle or a provocation.
• When you're ready to converge, Lock it and pipe the ideas into the next tool (e.g. Voting, Clustering, or Value/Doability).

Brainstorm produces idea items. Any downstream tool can consume them — add the next tool and connect its Source to this one, optionally filtering by votes or sequence range.

Paper and pen

You need: sticky notes, a fat marker per person, and a wall or flip chart.

• Write the prompt where everyone can see it, in the agreed question form.
• One idea per sticky note, written big — fat pens force short ideas, and short ideas can be read from across the room.
• Say it as you stick it: each person calls their idea out loud while posting it, so others can hitch‑hike on it.
• Keep the wall open well past the first lull — restate the prompt or offer a provocation to restart the flow.
• Before anything moves: number the notes or photograph the wall. The next activity (dot‑voting, clustering by hand) will rearrange everything.

When & why

Reach for Brainstorm when the group needs many options before choosing any — wishes and goals early in the process, ideas once a problem is framed, possible actions near the end.

While the field is open, defer judgement — evaluation is postponed, not abandoned, and it belongs in a focusing tool later.

• Quantity breeds quality: a strong session can reach forty ideas — and the second forty is where the novelty lives. When good ideas start appearing, don't stop: that's the signal to stretch, not to settle.
• Silence is fine; give people time to think. A minute of quiet often produces the best ideas.
• If a few voices dominate, Brain Writing or Breakout Groups spread participation.
• What usually follows: a focusing tool (Voting, Ranking) to converge, or Clustering to make sense of the field first.