Techniques For Effective Brainstorming Sessions

🧠 “How We Brainstorm And Choose UX Ideas” (+ Miro template) (https://lnkd.in/eN32hH2x), a practical guide by Booking.com on how to run a rapid UX ideation session with silent brainstorming and “How Might We” (HMW) statements — by clustering data points into themes, reframing each theme and then prioritizing impactful ideas. Shared by Evan Karageorgos, Tori Holmes, Alexandre Benitah. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Booking.com UX Ideation Template (Miro) https://lnkd.in/eipdgPuC (password: bookingcom) 🚫 Ideas shouldn’t come from assumptions but UX research. ✅ Study past research and conduct a new study if needed. ✅ Cluster data in user needs, business goals, competitive insights. ✅ Best ideas emerge at the intersections of these 3 pillars. ✅ Cluster all data points into themes, prioritize with colors. ✅ Reframe each theme as a “How Might We” (HMW) statement. ✅ Start with the problems (or insights) you’ve uncovered. ✅ Focus on the desired outcomes, rather than symptoms. ✅ Collect and group ideas by relevance for every theme. ✅ Prioritize and visualize ideas with visuals and storytelling. Many brainstorming sessions are an avalanche of unstructured ideas, based on hunches and assumptions. Just like in design work we need constraints to be intentional in our decisions, we need at least some structure to mold realistic and viable ideas. I absolutely love the idea of frame the perspective through the lens of ideation clusters: user needs, business problems and insights. Reframing emerging themes as “How-Might-We”-statements is a neat way to help teams focus on a specific problem at hand and a desired outcome. A simple but very helpful approach — without too much rigidity but just enough structure to generate, prioritize and eventually visualize effective ideas with the entire team. Invite non-designers in the sessions as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised how much value a 2h session might deliver. Useful resources: The Rules of Productive Brainstorming, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/eyYZjAz3 On “How Might We” Questions, by Maria Rosala, NN/g https://lnkd.in/ejDnmsRr Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges, by Aurora Harley, NN/g https://lnkd.in/emGtnMyy Brainstorming Exercises for Introverts, by Allison Press https://lnkd.in/eta6YsFJ How To Run Successful Product Design Workshops, by Gustavs Cirulis, Cindy Chang https://lnkd.in/eMtX-xwD Useful Miro Templates For UX Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

Google just dropped Mind Maps for NotebookLM, and it’s a must-have AI tool for every PM. Here’s how it works and why you’ll love it: As a PM, we’re constantly juggling with: - Research: Customer interviews, competitor analysis, market trends. - Ideation: Brainstorming features, roadmaps, and strategies. - Documentation: PRDs, meeting notes, and stakeholder updates. What if you could turn all of this chaos into clear, actionable visual diagrams in seconds? 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗟𝗠 - 1. Go to NotebookLM (Google’s AI-powered note-taking tool). 2. Add Your Sources:   - PDFs, text, markdown, audio.   - Paste copied text.   - Website & YouTube links.   - Google Docs & Slides from Drive. 3. Click “Mind Map” when ready. 4. Your Mind Map is ready. Instantly visualize connections, themes, and insights. Here are 5 use cases, you can use it to save hours and work smarter: 👇 1. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵:   - Upload interview transcripts or survey data.   - Instantly map pain points, themes, and opportunities.   - Example: “Visualize recurring customer frustrations from 20 interview transcripts.” 2. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀:   - Add competitor product docs, reviews, or website content.   - Create a mind map of their strengths, weaknesses, and gaps.   - Example: “Map out Competitor X’s feature set vs. ours to identify differentiation opportunities.” 3. 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:   - Brainstorm new features or improvements.   - Turn messy ideas into a structured roadmap.   - Example: “Create a mind map of potential features for our next sprint.” 4. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀:   - Upload meeting notes or recordings.   - Visualize key decisions, action items, and dependencies.   - Example: “Turn a 1-hour stakeholder meeting into a clear, actionable mind map.” 5. 𝗣𝗥𝗗𝘀 & 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:   - Organize complex requirements into a visual flow.   - Example: “Map out user flows and acceptance criteria for a new feature.” P.S. How would you use Mind Maps for NotebookLM in your PM workflow? Let me know in the comments! ……….. If you found this post helpful: ✅ Follow me for more practical AI tools and PM tips. 🔁 Repost to help other PMs discover this game-changer.

Here’s a surpisingly simple technique to create your next talk or presentation in a fraction of the time. Ever since I gave my TEDx talk back in 2017, that went on to become the most watched TEDxCardiff talk of all time (humble brag anyone?), I’ve played around with various techniques to write my talks. Today, this is what I use every time I need to map out a talk or craft a new keynote and it’s been super helpful. It’s nothing fancy but it works (for me). Here’s what you’ll need: -Sharpies (different colours) -Post-it notes (different sizes & colours) -Flash cards (different sizes & colours) Then, adopt this simple rule: One post-it note = one message / one idea / one fact / one stat / one srory / etc. I personally colour code my flash cards and post-it notes to make it easier for me to see the tempo of my talk. For example, blue post-it notes are stats, green are stories, yellow are big ideas, red are quotes, etc. It allows me to move them around with greater ease by taking a step back and seeing when a point I’m making needs something juicy to back it up. Then, the first thing I do is brain storm everything I know or believe about the topic I’m about to talk about. I then research the topic and capture everything relevant, again using the colour code principle of one post-it / one key idea principle. Once I’ve done that and my brain dump is scattered across various colour codes that I’ve stuck against my office wall, I can then start re-arranging the post-it notes in a logical order. I can also see when I’m repeating myself or when I’m giving too many (or not enough) stories. I can see if I’m missing a key element to land my message or make my point. Once I’m more or less happy with a rough outline, I then take each post-it note and transcribe it with a bit more detail on flash cards (ie record cards). This enables me to flip through them as I practice my talk to see if it makes sense. It’s nothing sexy but it works. Give it a try and let me know if it helps 🙌 I’m curious, what techniques do you use? Or what have you found helpful in the past to help you nail your talk or presentation? #publicspeaking #presentation #comminication #leadership #no4thflpor

“Why don’t senior leaders see a problem with psychological safety when so many employees still stay silent?" A team lead asked me this last week during a leadership session. It’s a powerful question and a deeply important one. The answer lies in a well-documented psychological phenomenon: 🔬The more power we hold, the worse we become at taking another person’s perspective. Galinsky et al. (2006) study showed that power reduces our ability to "mentalize" - to understand what others think or feel. Instead, powerful individuals tend to assume and interrupt. Not out of bad intent but because power shifts our attention inward. But this blind spot has consequences. 📊 Recent Perceptyx research (2025) reveals: - 87% of executives say their workplace is psychologically safe. - But only 69% of individual contributors and 66% of hourly workers agree. - That’s a 21-point perception gap and it helps explain why 30% of employees stay silent, even when they have something crucial to share. 👇 So what can you do? Start with these practical steps: 1. Proactively invite dissent. Try saying in meetings: “What am I missing here?” or “Whose perspective challenges mine?” 2. Normalize pushback. Create a “Devil’s Advocate” or “Red Team” moment in every key decision. Rotate who plays the role and publicly thank them for their contribution. 3. Use tools for idea collection. Like silent brainstorming (e.g., brainwriting) or pre-meeting pulse checks to level the playing field. ____________________ If you’re a leader or HR professional wondering how to build this kind of culture in your teams I run evidence-based leadership trainings focused on: - Building psychological safety from a position of power - Balancing high expectations with psychological support - Leading in a way that makes everyone feel seen, heard, and safe 📩 DM me if you'd like to explore bringing this to your leadership team. Because silence isn’t golden - it’s way more costly.

Good intentions cannot build a healthy work environment. We tell leaders to be inclusive, but rarely show them how. Inclusion is a daily practice, not a feeling. Meetings where the loudest voice dominates are systems designed to exclude. My dissertation on Workplace Neurodiverse Equity used Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory to show how environments shape our capacity to thrive. Neurodiversity is the natural variation in human functioning. Everyone is part of it. Some of us just need a bit more intentional help. So, here are 10 practices to lower stress and increase support for your team: 1/ Agendas Reality: Spontaneous demands spike cortisol. Practice: Send agendas and necessary decisions 24 hours in advance. Yield: Ensures deep processing time. 2/ Brainstorming Reality: Verbal brainstorming blocks ideas. Practice: First 10 minutes are silent. Write ideas before speaking. Yield: Eliminates bias of loudest voice. 3/ Cameras Reality: Forced visual attendance drains energy. Practice: State engagement is measured by contributions, not faces. Yield: Reduces sensory overload and prevents fatigue. 4/ Cold Calls Reality: Cold calls trigger fight or flight. Practice: Give notice before asking for input. Yield: Reduces performance anxiety and restores executive function. 5/ Captions Reality: Auditory processing varies wildly. Practice: Enable live transcription on every call by default. Yield: Ensures information is captured despite barriers. 6/ Movement Reality: Movement regulates; it is not a distraction. Practice: Normalize pacing, knitting, or sketching. Yield: Increases focus and emotional regulation. 7/ Processing Time Reality: Forced participation creates anxiety. Practice: Normalize saying you need time to process. Yield: Cultivates psychological safety. 8/ Expectations Reality: Unspoken rules are invisible barriers. Practice: If an expectation matters, write it down. Yield: Eliminates ambiguity and social guessing. 9/ Visuals Reality: Auditory information is fleeting. Practice: Never just speak a point. Share screen or provide written anchor. Yield: Reinforces working memory. 10/ Transitions Reality: Back to back tasks drain executive function. Practice: End meetings at 25 or 50 minute mark. Enforce strict hard stop. Yield: Respects biological limits and allows recovery. Stop relying on good intentions. Start cultivating an environment where every mind can thrive. Just remember, we are all a bit different, stay curious, and adapt to each person. What is one neuro-inclusive practice you plan to plant in your next meeting?

One of the clearest signals of whether a transformation is working isn’t in the plan - it’s in the conversations happening in your teams. So pay close attention to the frequency of healthy debate, constructive challenge and openness to new and divergent ideas that takes place. If the frequency is low… …there is the risk of creating the illusion of performance because people readily ‘understand’ each other, agree on everything, collaboration seems to flow smoothly and there is a collective sensation of progress. However, the opportunity cost is teams gets trapped in their own paradigms, opportunities get overlooked, risks ignored - and ultimately their output becomes derivative not innovative, performance diminishes as opposed to improving and compounding. If the frequency is high… …there is a level of psychological safety that allows for team members to be more objective, to speak up with relevant ideas, to constructively challenge each other, and bring their diverse perspectives and experiences to the table - in the knowledge it won’t be held against them. This opens up the opportunity of reframing the paradigm, and connecting different perspectives and ideas. Ingredients for creativity, innovation, resilience and performance. You see homogeneous teams might feel easier, but easy doesn’t translate into Performance. Here are a few ideas to experiment with your teams… 1. Intentionally foster a team environment that replaces scepticism with intellectual curiosity, an open and learning mindset.   2. Consider how you can create a ways of working that allows all ideas and perspectives from everyone in the room to be heard. 3. Encourage dissenting perspectives. Surrounding yourself with people who are willing to disagree with you and challenge your perspectives and each other. 4. Consider whether you may need to invite others to that creative or idea generation meeting to ensure you get a broader perspective. 5. De-stigmatise failure through sharing past mistakes and celebrating lessons learnt. 6. Institutionalise a team culture of healthy candour. Candour is one of the key attributes to improving the quality of output, levelling up creativity and enabling effective collaboration. What would you add? #transformation #culture #psychologicalsafety

Too many teams leave their best ideas in the hallway after the meeting. You’ve been there. So have I. The meeting ends, and suddenly two people peel off, finally saying what they really think because the room didn’t feel safe enough, or small enough, or structured enough to surface the real conversation. This is where one of our most effective and underutilized High Return Practices comes in, what we call the Power of Three. Here’s how it works: Next time you're in a group meeting, whether it’s 5 people or 50, pause before opening the floor to broad discussion. Instead, break the group into trios for 5–8 minutes. Give each group one key issue or prompt to wrestle with. The purpose of this is to create psychological safety in small pods, so that truth has a better shot at surfacing. Why it works: In smaller groups, people self-edit less and speak more honestly. The act of writing down insights reinforces accountability and commitment. When trios share back to the whole team, they’re less likely to dilute or dodge hard truths because their pod is counting on them to carry the message. Here’s your quick-start guide: Step 1: Choose one key issue that requires input or debate. Step 2: Break the full group into triads (in person or virtually). Step 3: Give 5–8 minutes for open discussion. Prompt candor. Step 4: Ask each group to share one key insight or unresolved tension. Step 5: Capture it in a shared doc so the truth isn’t lost. In Never Lead Alone, we call these HRPs, High Return Practices. Not because they sound smart, but because they help teams operate smarter, faster, and with more courage. Try it this week. One agenda item. Three people. Eight minutes. It could be the difference between alignment and assumption.

The opposite of peer pressure. Here is an interesting observation: When people with similar backgrounds are put in a group to brainstorm ideas, they often feel pressure to perform along with peers. Let’s call that “Peer Anxiety”. But put people from vastly different backgrounds in a room and creativity sparkles. Let’s call that “Alien Joy”. This observation was shared with me by Professor Dino Torrisi, an innovation expert who has helped many organisations create a more creative culture and who also lectures on innovation at MIP, Poli.Design, and NABA. (I try to interview one person a day about #creativity, and today Dino was that person.) In his work, Professor Torrisi has brought together groups of university students and middle managers from large organisations to collaborate on creative challenges, and he has noticed that when these very different groups of people meet, the level of creativity increases compared to when they work individually. The first thing that happens is that the number of questions participants ask of each other in the room is significantly higher in groups made up of very different participants. Those groups are also much more open-minded to listen to what others present. Finally, they are more open-minded to the creative process itself. Professor Torrisi calls that “creative lightness” - as in people walking into a creative challenge light-footed with a more positive mindset to the challenge. And that helps them be more creative. Perhaps we should more often deliberately create groups of really different people in order to raise the level of creativity in our organisations. Not just in the name of diversity, but also in the name of creativity. Perhaps we should aim more for “Alien Joy”.

When we talk about inclusive cultures we often forget that the way we run meetings can make others feel excluded. Most of us have experienced this at some point. You walk into a meeting ready to contribute... and you’re asked to take the notes instead. You start to make a point... and you’re interrupted before you finish the sentence. No one means to upset you. But when taking up airtime becomes a power game, studies show certain voices are consistently sidelined. (Women are 33% more likely to be interrupted in a meeting according to McKinsey & Company) Research has shown that in group discussions, interruptions are overwhelmingly directed at women, not because of competence, but because of deeply ingrained norms around who is “meant” to speak, lead, and conclude conversations. Deborah Tannen, Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University, says: “Men tend to speak to determine status. Women tend to speak to build connection.” When meetings reward only one style, we quietly lose insight, creativity, and trust. Over time, some of us may disengage... not because we have nothing to say, but because the room hasn’t made space to hear us. So what can help? A few small design choices can change the entire dynamic of a meeting: 1 - Read the room before you speak. Pause and ask yourself: Am I interrupting for clarity, or just to get airtime? A thought that can wait often lands better when it’s invited. 2 - Remove unnecessary hierarchy. The person at the “head” of the table often sets who feels allowed to speak. Different seating, shared facilitation, or even a change of environment can flatten this without a single rule being announced. 3 - Offer more than one way to contribute. Not everyone processes out loud. Shared docs, chat threads, or follow‑up notes give people space to contribute on their own terms and often surface the most thoughtful ideas. 4 - Always have a host. A clear host is not about control, it’s about care for participants. They hold the agenda, protect the flow, and gently intervene when interruptions happen. This matters even more online. In virtual meetings, one simple tactic helps: wait three seconds after someone stops speaking before you jump in. It feels awkward at first, but that pause often invites in the person who was about to speak and decided not to. A slightly uncomfortable silence is far more productive than a room where only the fastest voices win. Inclusive meetings aren’t about being “nice”. They’re about designing conversations where the best thinking has space to emerge. Tell me, what’s the smallest change you’ve seen make the biggest difference in meetings?

If one person talks the most in your meetings, you’re not leading. You’re spectating. Your team dynamics are disrupted by one member's dominance. How can you ensure everyone's voice is heard? 1) Recognise Dominance Identify the dominating member. Acknowledge their contributions. But ensure they don't overshadow others. 2) Set Clear Rules Establish ground rules for discussions. Everyone gets a turn to speak. 3) Encourage Quiet Members Actively invite input from quieter members. Their ideas may surprise you. 4) Rotate Roles Change roles regularly. Let everyone experience leadership. 5) Use Structured Methods Implement structured methods like round-robin. This ensures everyone has a say. 6) Foster Open Communication Create a safe space for sharing ideas. Encourage respectful dialogue. 7) Provide Feedback Give constructive feedback. Help the dominant member understand their impact. 8) Lead by Example Model inclusive behaviour. Show how to listen and value all voices. 9) Address Issues Privately Talk to the dominant member in private. Discuss ways to balance their input. 10) Celebrate Diversity Embrace the diverse perspectives. Dominance is a leadership issue, not just a team problem. If one person is consistently overshadowing the rest of the team, the issue isn't just with that individual (it's a failure in leadership). Leaders set the tone, and when dominance goes unchecked, it signals that you're allowing imbalances. The key is to step in early, recalibrate the group, and ensure that quieter voices are empowered. Leadership should foster participation, not enable monopolisation. Dominance persists when leaders stay silent. What would you add?