Hey there! Your friends from Funworks here again to share our favorite tips in creative collaboration, modified for the remote-working world.
Last week, we talked about the importance of asking beautiful questions. This week, we’ll take it one step further with a great process for answering that question: Think, Share, and Build.
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Think
In any group setting, silence can feel awkward, and it’s tempting to answer any question as soon as it’s asked without much reflection — especially on a remote video chat. But that’s not how we get to the best answers.
Before asking your beautiful question, tell your teammates that they’ll have a minute or two to think. (Feel free to play a little music.) Encourage the team to write as many answers as they can in that time, then at the end circle their favorite to share.
Share
This one’s easy: ask participants to share their ideas one at a time. Tell them that there’s no “wrong” answer; even if an answer isn’t all that good, someone might build on the insight to create something great.
Build
As folks share, encourage the builds that will come naturally. What do we mean by build? It’s when someone shares an idea, and you are immediately struck with inspiration on how to make that idea bigger or better, or how to use the insight behind it for some totally different idea.
It’s ok if this feels less structured; building on each other’s ideas is how we come up with better ideas than we could ever possibly have as individuals.
This structured process of reflection and response is perfect for asking complex questions of a group and helps avoid “groupthink” because ideas are developed a bit before everyone shares.
And as always, designate a note-taker to make sure you don’t lose anything!
If you have any questions or you’d like us to help facilitate your next remote brainstorm, please get in touch: [email protected]