😶 #silentwriting is an extremely powerful way of getting lots of ideas from everyone in the room very quickly. I've used this technique to get more than 100 #ideas 💡in just 30 minutes ⏱ from a #diverse#team. It's really easy, and will completely change the way you #facilitate#workshops!
All you do is:
Pick a topic or question that you want to brainstorm ideas for and write it on the whiteboard
Give everyone in the group a stack of post-it notes and a pen.
Set a time limit - I find 3-5 minutes is often good and ask everyone to write down as many ideas as they can related to the topic or question.
When the time is up, you ask each person to share their ideas with the group.
The great thing about silent writing is that it lets everyone contribute ideas without feeling shy or nervous about speaking up. Plus, it can lead to more creative and diverse ideas since people can write down anything that pops into their head without worrying about what others will think. And once the ideas are written on a piece of paper - they are safe!
Silent writing is a fun and easy way to generate lots of ideas in a short amount of time and get everyone involved in a brainstorming session. It also works well in virtual meetings. Simply have everyone type their ideas in to the chat window during the silent time but make sure they don't hit "send" until the time is up - the whole point is that they are not being influenced by each other's ideas yet.
If you'd like to learn more about this and many other techniques that will help you get the most out of your team and project, why don't you check out our courses, facilitation and coaching options at www.impactfulpm.com