THE PERFECT (BRAIN)STORM

THE CLOUDS ARE ROLLING IN

It's important to realize that Google Slides and similar programs aren't a means for idea creation; they're just an empty vessel you can use to hold all your ideas. For that reason, we don't want to jump into slideshow creation until we've got all our ducks in a row. Because if one of those little ducklings veers a little too far from its mama—or if one is actually a goose in disguise—we're setting ourselves up for a crazy night at the pond.

That's where the brainstorming comes in.

Brainstorming isn't just coming up with an idea and running with it. The first thing to pop into our minds might not be the best idea anyway. Instead, we want to use brainstorming as a way to create lots of ideas. We come back to sort them later.

What are some strategies, though? How do you get those clouds rolling in? What if it's a little too much "storm" and not enough "brain"?

No worries, young traveler. We've got a few insider tips to help you out.

First, ditch the tech. It opens up too many possibilities: worrying about saving stuff, figuring out how to use a drawing program, the many cat videos that are begging to distract you from your work. It's too much and might even stem the flow of your ideas.

Instead, stick to simplicity: pencils and paper. You can get your ideas onto the paper quickly, and you'll always have them if you need to refer back to something you came up with. What could be easier than that?

Next, change up the scenery. Step away from your desk, move out of your normal work space, and find somewhere new where you can do some serious thinking. For instance, Salvador Dali used to really dig working in tiny, cramped spaces, like bathtubs and closets. We're not saying you should hang out in a coat closet, but you should definitely find a fresh environment. It's amazing what that'll do to help you think more outside the box.

Then, once you think you're ready to crank the idea faucet on full blast, explore a few of these techniques to help create and sketch those plans and potential concepts:

• Sticky Note Collage: to use this strategy, you just need three things: some sticky notes, a Sharpie, and a blank wall. Since the little squares are so small, you can focus on keeping your ideas simple and straightforward. If it's too big or wordy to fit on the page, it's too complex and should be split up. Then, once you've got all your ideas stuck to the wall, they're easy to move around, add to, or even pull from the mix.

• Free-Writing: The goal of free-writing is to put your pencil to the page and to keep it moving, no matter what. Maybe you write down stray thoughts that jump into your head, like wondering if you remembered to turn off the coffee pot, and hopefully you jot down the perfect idea for your speech. Either way, don't stop. Try to set a goal for yourself as you write: ten minutes, three pages, or 800 words. It can be anything you'd like; just keep moving that pencil.

• Perspective Hopping: Maybe your topic is multi-faceted. Don't let your presentation go flat by ignoring that factor. Brainstorm from all different points of view: describe it in detail, trace its history, and make a map showing the other topics related to it. The possibilities are limitless, and it'll help you round out your presentation wonderfully.

• Cubing: Imagine a cube: how many sides does it have? That's right: six. Now, imagine placing your presentation subject into that imaginary cube. All of a sudden, there are six ways to look at your topic. The goal is to create a three-dimensional viewpoint of your subject by doing the following:

  • Describe it.

  • Compare it.

  • Associate it.

  • Evaluate it.

  • Apply it.

  • Debate for and against it.

• Interview yourself: Ask yourself different sets of questions surrounding your topic. Maybe you take journalist approach: who, what, when, where, why? Or, perhaps you dig into sensory details: what do you see, hear, smell, feel, taste? The types of questions you ask depend on your topic, so use your best judgment when choosing.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. As you get more comfortable with the process of brainstorming, you might even evolve or mix a few strategies to create your very own version of idea formation.

As you brainstorm, though, there are a few rules you might want to keep in mind.

For instance, don't judge your ideas. Just let them be who they want to be. If you start ranking them as "good" or "not plausible" or "oh man, that's awful," you take away the brainpower that might otherwise be directed at creating the next idea.

With that in mind, entertain the wild ideas. Just because it's wild and exaggerated, it doesn't mean you can't use it. Really let your imagination take off and go to those places that others might deem "crazy." After all, those crazy ideas can lead to some awesome places.

If you're working in a group, realize that every person and every idea has some worth. And, it's not a competition. If one of your group members throws out an idea that you think could work, don't wrack your brain trying to find something that'll top their idea; build on others' ideas. That's a key to good teamwork. Don't fight those good ideas; run with them.

Finally, know that the brainstorming stage is all about quantity, not quality. That means, even if the idea doesn't seem like the greatest thing on the planet the moment it hits your brain, write it down anyway. You never know what might happen as you sift back through ideas later. Something really amazing might be sparked by that humble little note you almost wrote off as "not good enough."

Once you've got all those ideas and potential concepts down on paper, it's time to start sifting, sorting, classifying, and expanding. And sketching will be your best friend.

PLUG IN AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS

You've done a lot of hard work so far, and now you've got this mess to contend with. Maybe you're staring at a wall crammed with sticky notes, or maybe there's an actual cube you've built because you got so into brainstorming that your hands took over. What do you do with all this information? And how do you get from all these words to a visual aid or slideshow?

This is when your judgment begins to play a role. You want to find a way to unite all these ideas into one cohesive presentation that's organized and that makes sense. There's a process to making connections, turning that mess into a masterpiece.

We're going to use an example to help guide you through this process.

Check it out: imagine that we're crafting a presentation on the process for creating the perfect essay every time. We know our topic, and we've got all kinds of ideas on the table, referring to everything from the pre-writing process to revising and editing, and everything in between.

But it's kind of a jumbled, sticky note mess all over the kitchen. Eventually, this stuff has to come together because our presentation is due soon, and the fact that we need to eat at some point has us concerned about the mass of notes covering the stove. What steps should we take?

Have a little look-see at the process of organizing after a brainstorm session:

1. Take a break. Then, when we've had our break time and feel refreshed, we can jump back into our ideas a little more objectively than if we'd just started organizing right off the bat.

2. Weed out the crazy. When we brainstorm, we tend to go all over the place. And that's okay. We want the brainstorming process to be all about gathering as many ideas as we can to make sure all our bases are covered. But, a few random thoughts, doodles, and concepts probably sneak into that mess, and we want to pull those out. For instance, we might've been jonesing for a snack while we were doing that hardcore thinking, and a few ideas about nachos might've snuck into our sticky notes. And that doodle of a donut probably won't add any value to the presentation. We should probably take those out. The trick is to ask yourself if the idea is directly related to the goal of the presentation. If the answer's "no," toss it into the trash.

3. Sort everything. Chances are, there are going to be some major topics where we can kind of put several things into a single pile. We'll get one stack going for thesis development, and we'll add another stack for paragraph structure. Then, we'll make another pile for everything about conclusion-writing. It's all about finding major categories to help us figure out the main points of our presentation.

4. Skim through the piles. Are some ideas within each category stronger than others? Rank them from "awesome" to "what were we thinking?" to get a better idea of what each main point of your presentation will consist of. Then, go back to the main goal of your presentation. Remember? We want to talk about the process of creating a perfect essay. For example, that pile exploring and explaining research techniques is on-topic in a way, but it kind of pulls the focus away from the main goal of our speech. We can shove that pile out of our way and look more closely at the ones that fit our presentation's main objective.

5. Make a final call. We know what the main points of our speech because we're staring at those piles of notes. Now, it's time to spread everything back out, but in an organized way. Which information do we want to talk about first? What should come next? What topic will we save for last? We can organize those piles of notes into a basic structure. Finally, within the confines of each pile, you'll complete a similar sort. What comments do you want to make within each main point? What should be emphasized? What's not working within the category? Push, pull, and place your ideas in a way that makes sense to you.

6. Sketch. This unit is, after all, all about the visual. Try to turn those verbal ideas into a sketch of something universal. Try using little-to-no words in your sketch, at first. Is there a cycle happening? Are there steps? Does that donut doodle actually come back into play? No? That's okay. And don't just stick with the first sketch. Maybe you've drawn out a process with one step leading to the next, but then you realize that a pyramid showing how much time should be spent on each step makes more sense. Play with shapes, arrows, color-coding, and any other visual representation you can think. It's all a matter of turning that wordiness into something that only needs to be seen to be understood.

Voila. You've gone from feeling like an idea train crashed into your house to beginning the process of outlining the visual aids for your overall presentation. And, you've got your kitchen back. We think that definitely entitles you to another break time.