Does Brainstorming Knock Out Your Power?

Have you ever been to a brainstorming session? If not, you might imagine a wild afternoon or hour-long meeting where people throw out ideas so fast it’s a challenge to get them all written down. The reality is more likely to be a room with a couple of subdued account executives or graphic artists tapping their pencils as the minutes tick by while they stare out the window. Nothing quiets an idea session faster than participants editing or censoring their thoughts before they spit them out.

Don’t let performance anxiety drain your power source. Charge up ahead of time with light refreshments. Then, when your meeting starts, be positive and get those ideas out there! Yell them, write them down, draw them on a whiteboard, sing them out loud or act them out. Allow yourself to be goofy or childlike. Use props, costumes, and play like you mean it. Open up your creativity by letting out the trapped five-year-old in your brain, you know, the one who thinks outside the box by turning it into a spaceship. The energy you put out is contagious and you will pick up on the energy given by others. Laughter is empowering. Negativity saps energy from everyone in the room. This is why it’s important not to edit or judge anyone’s ideas, including your own.

Give yourself permission to have fun and be open to suggestion. You’ll see, good ideas will flow. You can develop selected ideas or figure out how to make them happen at a later time.

Author/speaker Janet F. Williams is a high-end sales professional, sales trainer and coach for personal and professional development. She speaks on topics contained in her award-winning book “You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get” to businesses, networking groups, non-profits, book clubs and more. For more information or to buy the book, please visit: www.JanetFWilliams.com and www.GoodDayMedia.com.