Читать книгу Group Work: B2+ - Patrick McMahon - Страница 35

As already discussed in Chapter 1, brainstorming is a useful technique for coming up with ideas. The technique involves putting forward any ideas connected with the subject you are thinking about; each idea generates other ideas that can be noted down until you have a list of loosely connected ideas. You will be able to use some of these, but you will certainly not use all of them. After brainstorming you would normally decide which ideas you can work with and write them into your plan.

Look at how this process might work if you decided to brainstorm your ideas in the assignment below.

Glossary

appoint If you appoint someone to a job or official position, you choose them for it.

For example: Design a new product for your student university shop. It should be practical in nature, bear the university logo and be affordable to students to buy as a product to use or as a souvenir.

Brainstorming a new product for the university shop

1 If possible, make use of a flip chart or a sheet of A3 paper attached to the wall and a marker pen.

2 Appoint a secretary.

3 Agree a set time period (five minutes is about right).

4 Start making suggestions about new products; the secretary writes these down in large writing so everyone can see the ideas.

5 Group members should not comment on each other’s ideas but just try to build on each suggestion.

6 At the end of the set time period, take a group rest.

7 Spend time reading quietly through all the ideas.

8 Through group discussion, cross out the least popular ideas and leave the most popular ones.

9 Agree on the best idea from the remaining popular ones. Try to include everybody’s opinion and adopt one idea that everybody is happy with.

Exercise 2

Brainstorm the task on page 31 on your own for five minutes, noting down everything that comes to mind. When you finish, think about the possibilities of each suggestion. Then you will be ready to make a final list of good ideas.

It might be helpful if you attach a piece of paper to the wall so you can brainstorm and make notes standing up. This helps many people to think more freely. Keep brainstorming for the full amount of time. Ideas build slowly, one idea leading to another; good ideas often come at the end of the process.