Crawford's Slip Writing Method

Generating Ideas From Many Contributors


Like brainstorming, but on paper.

© iStockphoto/PhotoNotebook

How do you unlock the collective knowledge and ideas of your team, your department or even your whole organization? And how do you do this in a way that everyone (not just those with the biggest egos) gets heard?

The Crawford Slip Method is a simple yet effective type of brainstorming that gives the opinions of all team members equal weight, however quiet they are.

In fact, you probably will have encountered this way of generating ideas and solutions even if you haven't called it the Crawford Slip Method.

Invented in the 1920s by Dr C.C. Crawford, Professor of Education at the University of Southern California, the method simply involves collating input from people on slips of paper (nowadays often on sticky notes).

Not only does this help you generate a wide variety of solutions, it also helps people get involved and feel that their contributions are valued. Writing rather than speaking during the session can have added advantages: it helps people to think freely without interruption, and it levels the playing field between quieter people and more outspoken participants.

... for the complete article:

Mind Tools members, click here.

Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources

Join now for just $1, first month

"When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Now I am. Along with that came a 12% increase in salary."
– Pat Degan, Houston, USA


Join the Mind Tools Club

Get training, help and ideas to boost your career: the Mind Tools Club gives you much, much more than you get here on the basic Mind Tools site.

And if you join before midnight on May 9th, we'll also give you a FREE copy of our Future-Proof Your Career workbook.

Find out what you get


Where to go from here:

Next article

Free newsletter

Join Mind Tools

Follow Mind_Tools on Twitter
Facebook

1 Day to Go!
Get Our Future-Proof Your Career Workbook FREE


Join the Mind Tools Club before midnight, May 9th, and get our Future-Proof Your Career workbook (worth US$19.99) for FREE.

Join for just US$1

Get the Free
Mind Tools App


Mind Tools Apps

Learn on the move with the free Mind Tools iPhone, iPad and Android Apps. Short bursts of business training ideal for busy people.

Get the Mind Tools App

Related Resources


What Bugs You?


  • Let us know about anything wrong, or anything you don't like about this site, and you could win a US$50 Amazon voucher!

Click here

Sponsored Links