Why Zoom brainstorming sessions suck

Don’t brainstorm ideas over Zoom. Brainstorm asynchronously

Conference calls are the worst ways to recreate a conference room brainstorming session. As it is, only the loudest voices get heard

Those who try to contribute ideas and fail will comfortably put themselves on mute and start browsing the internet

Avoid Zoom brainstorming if you can, but if you really must do it - try these

1) Every speaks on round robin 2) Use the raise hand feature 3) Post ideas on chat

What is the alternative? Before I even get into tools, let’s start with a good old document.

1) Create a Google Doc 2) Share it with the stakeholders 3) Start documenting ideas 4) Create comment threads for specific ideas 5) Agree/Disagree/Vote on the doc 6) Get on a meeting to finalise

Writing down ideas gives everyone time to think it through, back it up with proof etc

Some tools that facilitate this - Miro, Whimsical. Have used them only briefly, cant vouch

Again, the tools will only work if you open up your mind to asynchronous communication

Do not default to a call/meeting

Get into the habit of writing beautiful documentation. It really helps. It’s foolproof. It’s future proof.

We cannot hope to thrive in a remote working env if we just act as if everyone’s just a conversation away