All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
German Philosopher and Poet
The Ancient Greeks knew it thousands of years ago: it’s better to walk around while you are thinking. Thus, this form of brainstorming is an energizer at the same time. This method is based on this insight.
How to do Brainwalking
Option 1
Every participant gets a marker. You write the challenge or topic as a heading on several large flip chart sheets, which you distribute in different places around the room. Depending on the number of participants let two to three people stand at one flip chart. After the starting signal the brainwalking starts and everybody should write immediately and spontaneously his or her ideas on the flip chart. After a couple of minutes, participants rotate to the next flip chart. You could do several rounds so that people are inspired by what they see as they move around. In the next stage, all groups walk from flip chart to flip chart, discussing the ideas and marking the best ones.
Option 2
The second option is to tear the flip chart carefully into pieces (alternative: instead of writing on the flip chart hand out cards which participants stick on boards) and build columns on the floor. Step by step you go through the content of one column after another in order to find suitable solutions.
Presentation of Results
The results of the brainwalking are presented and discussed thereafter. Either the pieces (Option 2) or the board or flipcharts are pulled together. A designed facilitator presents. Unreadable or unclear contributions are clarified. T
You can cluster and prioritize the different “pieces of brain”. The discussion is part of the process. Don’t neglect it or hurry too much. The choice should be a transparent process to be followed by every contributor. You can vote on it or agree jointly.
Reflect which technique might fit in best: This one or…
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