Effective presentations require fresh ideas. Unfortunately, no Great and Powerful Oz exists to show you the best way to reach your audience. Conjuring up original ideas is rarely as easy as peering into a crystal ball; it requires a good deal of organized thinking. Whether you work best within a group of idea-tornados or prefer quietly contemplating potential strategies alone in a poppy field, brainstorming is a necessary first stop on your yellow brick road to a presentation that’s innovative and reaches your audience through a new direction.
There’s No Place Like Home
However you decide to generate ideas for your next presentation, keep your final goal in mind. Ask yourself, “What do I want this presentation to accomplish?” Now, write that down and think of it as the home you want to get back to. No matter how creative your brainstorming sessions become, you should always remember where you are trying to end up. Also be mindful of your audience and the types of things that will speak to them. A room full of subdivision contractors will respond quite differently to an image of a cornfield than a group of farmers would. Remember that you want your audience to easily follow your presentation path to your defined home.
If I Only Had 20 Brains
You do! Brainstorming with others is usually the quickest way to produce a myriad of fresh ideas. Working within a group, however, requires that you establish some ground rules to make your session as constructive as possible.
- Make sure everyone understands your presentation’s main point. Write that central message in a place where the entire group can see it throughout the session.
- To avoid becoming like an unruly band of flying monkey-creatures, make sure that someone is in charge of keeping the conversation on track.
- Create an environment that inspires people to have a heart. To be most productive, group members should feel that all ideas will be valued.
- Follow a system that allows all group members to see and interact with contributed ideas. For example, write thoughts on large post-it notes and place them in the center of the conference table.
Look No Further Than Your Own Backyard
Just like the Scarecrow, you’ve always had a brain. Use it to be perceptive. You don’t have to go all the way over the rainbow to find what you’re looking for in terms of presentation ideas. Spending time observing your surroundings can provide some novel ideas, if you explore them. The woman who brings her own mason jar to fill at the coffee house may be more inspirational to your presentation on eco-friendly trends than you first thought.
Follow Your Own Yellow Brick Road
If thinking about being creative makes you shudder, several brainstorming software packages with promising names like MindManager, BrainStorm, Scrivener and IdeaFisher exist to help you on your way. You can certainly use software as a compass, but most experts agree that planning your presentation on a computer from the start limits your creativity greatly. Even if you feel that you don’t have it in you to lead a brainstorming group or come up with new ideas yourself, give it a try. You might just find that you had the courage all along.
