Brainstorming Warm-Ups

Three Simple Brainstorming Warm-Ups

Brainstorming warm-ups are useful for getting people into the right frame of mind for a brainstorming session. These three common brainstorming warm-ups help those involved in the brainstorming process to overcome common brainstorming stumbling blocks and maximize creative results.

1. Word Games

Word games are excellent brainstorming warm-ups. They exercise the mind and help us get into the proper mindset for the actual brainstorming process. It really doesn't matter which specific word games are used as brainstorming warm-ups, as long as they are mentally stimulating and challenging.

2. A Practice Run

Brainstorming a completely unrelated topic is one of the more popular and productive brainstorming warm-ups put into practice. To put this brainstorming warm-up into action, you create an amusing imaginary problem and then brainstorm ways to overcome it. By brainstorming a completely unrelated topic, you can get a feel for the brainstorming process and begin to warm up and exercise the parts of the brain that will be put to work during the actual brainstorming session.

3. A Game of Opposites
It is useful to break down creative barriers prior to the brainstorming session and we can use warm-ups, such as opposites games, to accomplish this task. To perform this brainstorming warm-up, write down a list of ten to twenty common words. Next to each word, write down the first three words that come to mind when you think of what the opposite of that word should be. If this is a group brainstorming session, have one person read each of the words aloud as all members of the brainstorming team write down the first three words that come to mind.

By using these brainstorming warm-ups prior to your brainstorming session, the creative process will flow more freely, the ideas will come more quickly and the results of your brainstorming efforts can be maximized.