The rules of brainstorming

- There are four basic rules to brainstorming … and it's important that you respect these, … even if you're conducting ideation on your own. … The four rules are, one, … focus on quantity, not quality. … Two, defer judgment. … Three, welcome far-fetched ideas, … and, finally, four, build on the ideas. … So for starters, … it's important that you immediately remove … any expectation of quality from a brainstorming session. … When you sit down to capture ideas, … you're seeking an abundance of them. … Don't withhold anything. … It's much easier to pick out the good ideas … from a large list than to pick out the good ideas … from a small one. … Additionally, you must defer judgment. … Don't criticize ideas. … And this is just as important in individual brainstorming … as it is in team brainstorming. … As an individual, don't let negative self-talk … diminish your ideation. … As a team, don't let others shoot down ideas … because then it reduces the likelihood … that others will participate. …