Improvisation and Brainstorming

I recently read “Using Improvisation to Enhance the Effectiveness of Brainstorming”, a CHI ’09 paper by Elizabeth Gerber. The paper describes how improvisation has a similar atmosphere to brainstorming and can be used as preparation for a brainstorming session. Improvisation uses two people ideas to create a performance that could not have been created individually. When brainstorming, members should build upon other’s ideas to come up with new ideas. Both brainstorming and improvisation require an environment of trust where individuals can express themselves with confidence without feeling rejected. With both improvisation and brainstorming, the results are dependent upon everyone contributing and working together.

Osborn’s rules advise brainstorm participants to
1) Withhold judgment
2) Build on the ideas of others
3) Generate a large quantity of ideas
4) free-wheel
5) Identify a leader

General problems encountered during brainstorming sessions:
1. Unable to share
2. Getting distracted by other ideas
3. Premature evaluation keeps groups from effective brainstorming

Keith Johnstone developed some exercises which should help relieve fear and encourage collaboration.

1. Malapropism – misnaming objects and standardizing failure
2. Metaphor ball – finish the phrase
3. Yes, let’s. – Lets …, yes, automatic agreement
4. Alphabet awareness to transition from work to brainstorming
5. New Choice – generate as many new ideas as possible
6. Presents – generate new uses for objects as they are passed back and forth

A few things to remember:
1. Fail early, fail often – find problems before you get too far into the production process
2. Fail cheerfully – focus on the improvement gained
3. Leader shapes the show - if not going anywhere, the leader can point the discussion in a new direction
4. Brainstorming requires a warm-up and breaks