When you throw a group of people together, give them a problem to solve and say, “Let’s throw some ideas out there,” it gets the creative juices flowing. Ideas give birth to more ideas, and people will bounce ideas off one another. The creativity will bubble over. When your thoughts are given free rein, it is much easier to come up with solutions. Beware, though, of letting the situation become too free rein because you can end up too far off course.
Ideas offered up in a brainstorming session are never wrong; they are just ideas. Something may never become anything more than an idea, but it is never wrong. Because of this, people can afford to put forth their ideas to the group without the fear of failure or ridicule. This can sometimes result in solutions coming from far out of left field because participants think “outside the box.”
Group brainstorming can enable all members of the group to feel like part of the team. It encourages widespread participation and involvement; It can make all participants feel as though their ideas and input are respected and valued. When solutions to problems are found, it becomes a group achievement, and everyone can bask in the feeling of accomplishment.
The concept of brainstorming itself is not a hard thing to comprehend. You simply start with a problem or situation, or even a single word, and then you simply map out any ideas that leap to mind as a solution. You do not need to be a genius or have a degree to become involved in a brainstorming session. The very nature of the group structure can often make brainstorming a fun and exciting process. The often speedy collation of ideas seem to race toward your common goal -- the solution. It can make for an intense and exciting environment.