Have you ever found yourself stuck in a brainstorming session where the same voices dominate?
It always ends up the same with those voices getting their ideas and opinions across and everyone else unable to get a word in edgewise. Not the ideal situation for collaboration if you ask us.
We hear you, 'there must be a better way' and we're here to tell you there is.
Brainwriting is a collaboration and idea-sharing technique designed for equal participation to gather a broader range of ideas. This means your brilliant ideas will make it out of your brain and out into the open.
Unlike brainstorming, where ideas are shared verbally, brainwriting, as the name suggests, is about writing ideas down. It's a calmer, more collaborative approach to idea generation and building.
If this sounds like the solution to your collaboration nightmares, read on.
What is Brainwriting?
We've touched on it above, but here is the full definition of brainwriting.
Brainwriting definition
Brainwriting
Brainwriting is a technique used to help generate ideas and boost collaboration within groups.
It differs from brainstorming where participants voice out their suggestions, while brainwriting requires participants to silently write down their thoughts and ideas either on in-person resources or a digital document.
Then the collected ideas from each person are circulated around the group to inspire other members to build on or refine, depending on what they think it needs.
An interesting part of this technique is that it is recommended to be completed in silence instead of with active discussions.
This means that no one can influence each other's ideas and only authentic and original ideas are shared.
Brainwriting is great because it encourages equal participation from all group members and means you receive more innovative ideas.
This technique is highly adaptable and can be used in lots of industries and contexts.
It can used at your next team meeting, workshop, or design process as well as in marketing, advertising, education, research, development, problem-solving and decision-making.
Everyone has their own experiences and ideas, and finding a way to draw on that to generate forward-thinking solutions is a win-win in our book.
Brainwriting Vs. Brainstorming
We're fairly certain you've heard of brainstorming before but we'll quickly explain it in case you haven't.
Brainstorming sees a group of people sitting in a room or on a Zoom call to come up with ideas for a particular project.
To do this, they'd likely write the problem they're having, e.g. 'how to reduce attrition rates' and everyone would all chime in with their ideas, as they came to them.
Brainstorming thrives off rapid idea generation but can favour the more assertive teammates who are happy to talk over others to get their ideas out. This can then lead to a psychological phenomenon known as groupthink, which isn't ideal when you want creativity.
Here's how these methods differ:
Idea expression
✍️ Brainwriting: Silent written contributions on paper or digital platforms
⚡️ Brainstorming: Verbal sharing in group discussions
Participation dynamics
✍️ Brainwriting: Simultaneous idea generation by all participants
⚡️ Brainstorming: Sequential contributions with potential interruptions
Social influence
✍️ Brainwriting: Reduced social pressure enables authentic ideation
⚡️ Brainstorming: Social hierarchies impact participation levels
Documentation
✍️ Brainwriting: Automatic documentation through written format
⚡️ Brainstorming: Requires additional effort to capture spoken ideas
Time efficiency
✍️ Brainwriting: Parallel idea generation maximises session productivity
⚡️ Brainstorming: Time spent listening to others reduces individual contribution
Cognitive processing
✍️ Brainwriting: Deep individual reflection without external interruption
⚡️ Brainstorming: Split attention between listening and speaking
Idea building
✍️ Brainwriting: Structured rounds for systematic idea development
⚡️ Brainstorming: Spontaneous building on others' verbal contributions
Different methods for brainwriting
There are then different variations of brainwriting that can be adapted and moulded to suit the group size, setting and project requirements.
6-3-5 brainwriting for teams
To kick off, there's the 6-3-5 variation of brainwriting. The format comes from its name—"6-3-5" stands for six participants, each generating three ideas all within five minutes.
You start with a predefined question or problem, and each participant scribbles down three ideas within the time frame, which results in 18 unique ideas per round.
After each round, the sheets are handed to the next person to build on or add three new ideas until they come back full circle.
This rotation happens five times and has the potential to produce a total of 108 ideas in 30 minutes. This is a great way to have rapid idea generation while still hearing everyone's opinions.
Collaborative brainwriting techniques
Collaborative brainwriting is more about a joint effort within the team and there are a few ways to do this.
Option 1: In a meeting, there is a prompt on the whiteboard, either in-person or via a digital platform like Miro. Each person adds their ideas, with the next person building on that concept.
Option 2: The prompt or topic is shared either on an in-person whiteboard or onto a Miro board, and each participant is asked to add their ideas as they come to them, not necessarily in a meeting.
It gives people more time to think about their responses, and they can add them if and when it feels right.
This type of asynchronous collaboration is great when rapid idea generation isn't needed. You can read more about other types of asynchronous communication here.
Benefits of Brainwriting
Brainwriting has a lot of benefits, both to teamwork and idea generation. These are the benefits you should know about, to help you decide which collaborative technique to use in your next team project.
Diverse idea generation, equal participation and enhanced psychological safety
- Introverted team members contribute without social pressure
- Every participant generates the same number of ideas
- Remote team members can engage as easily as in-person colleagues
- Everyone feels safe sharing their ideas with no worries about others talking over them
Enhanced idea quality
- Silent reflection produces more developed ideas
- Building on others' written ideas creates deeper, more forward-thinking iterations
- Individual thinking time reduces rushed or surface-level suggestions
- A flow of ideas for other participants to take inspiration from means more creative solutions to problems
Efficient documentation
- All ideas are captured automatically
- Digital platforms like Miro make creating, sharing and building on ideas easy
Reduced cognitive bias
- Elimination of dominant personalities taking over
- Written format prevents premature judgement of ideas
- Overcoming groupthink with each person sharing their ideas, not influenced by ideas from the group
Challenges of Brainwriting
Although it does have many advantages, as with everything it does come with its own set of challenges.
The first disadvantage of brainwriting is the duplication of ideas. When everyone is generating their own ideas on paper or digitally, you won't know if it is the same as the person next to them until it is shared or passed on. This is especially challenging in remote brainwriting.
This can be seen as less than effective, especially when productivity is at the centre of brain writing. One good thing, though, is that this usually disappears as the group goes through different rounds of building and editing ideas.
Another challenge some people find is the lack of spontaneity in brainwriting, which traditional brainstorming sessions don't struggle with.
Because the concept of brainwriting is about generating ideas in silence, some argue that collaboration is limited without the verbal aspect.
Group sizing can also challenge its effectiveness. Brainwriting works best in groups of between 4-8 participants, any more than that and the collaborative process might be impacted.
Larger groups mean longer sessions, complicated idea organisation and less individual engagement, all things that counteract the benefits of brainwriting.
The Brainwriting process
Setup
To have an effective brainwriting session, you'll need a simple framework.
Decide on your group (between 4-8 people is ideal) and your method of collaborating (remote or in-person). Share the concept of brainwriting and let your group know that everyone's ideas and opinions are valued.
We'd recommend also sharing ideation techniques and creativity techniques to make it easier and consider using a brainwriting template.
Identify the problem
Next, pinpoint the problem.
Make sure that your team knows the issue they're working to solve. If you're not clear, you'll end up with ideas that don't align with what you want or need instead of creative ideas.
The whole process doesn't have to be silent either. Make sure to ask questions to ensure everyone fully understands.
Idea generation with or without technology
Let the ideation session begin. Each person writes down their ideas, influenced only by the thoughts in their head.
This can be done on paper or a digital whiteboard.
Build on ideas
Once the ideas have been generated, it's time for more innovative thinking.
Participants pass or share their ideas with a teammate who will then build on that idea or use their ideas for inspiration. This leads to more collective creativity.
Repeat
Repeat this cycle until you're happy with the creative thinking and ideas generated. If you want to, keep the digital board open past the session, so people can continue to add their ideas.
Review
Lastly, review the process. Once all ideas have undergone multiple rounds of building and enhancement, bring the group together to discuss the outcomes.
As a team, look at the quality of solutions generated, identify the most promising ideas, and discuss steps for further refinement or implementation.
When to use brainwriting
At company retreats
In our opinion, the best time to introduce and use this approach is to practice it at your next company retreat.
You can use it to generate ideas for anything, work-related or not. Use your team's input on things like how you can improve your processes or how to better share information. Company retreats are the ideal place to do this as the pressure of the working environment is removed. Guests are more relaxed and are inspired by the unique venue they're at. If brainwriting is something you want to start using, introduce it at your next company retreat and see the amazing effect it can have on collaboration.
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Conclusion
In our opinion, brainwriting is the sophisticated, more innovative cousin to brainstorming. It's an idea generation technique designed to hear every person's opinions, not just the loudest in the group.
Whether you choose the classic 6-3-5 technique or opt for digital variations the method's ability to generate more unique ideas while reducing social barriers makes it an invaluable tool.
By implementing brainwriting effectively you can transform your team's ideation process and create an environment where every person feels happy and comfortable to contribute their amazing ideas.
With proper implementation, brainwriting can revolutionise how your team approaches creative problem-solving.
So, why not give brainwriting a try? It could be the game-changer you've been looking for.
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