It’s common for us to send or receive invitations for brainstorm sessions. The very word “brainstorm” conjures up images of overlapping thought bubbles and claps of a-ha moments. Or maybe that’s just my fantasy.

Often in brainstorm sessions, I observe gaps of silence that I wish were filled with stream-of-consciousness chatter, the incomplete thoughts that might have merit but never get shared because people censor themselves or worry about looking like a weirdo.

I picked up a few simple guidelines for brainstorming during a half-day session at Second City in Chicago. These basic reminders help to ensure a successful session.

1. Capture every idea.
2. Stay focused.
3. Generate a lot of ideas.
4. Build on the ideas of others.
5. Evaluate later.
6. Don’t over-appreciate or criticize any one idea.
7. Don’t judge. Yourself or others.
8. Don’t interrupt. There may be something great at the end of that ramble. Or not. But if you cut someone off, you’ll never know.

Let’s start a brainstorm session here, just for fun. How about another term for the word brainstorm?

Ready? Go!