Brainwriting is like brainstorming – but it's more of a solo undertaking, a lot quieter, more relaxed, and often more productive. Instead of just voicing ideas aloud, people write down their ideas and then share them. 

---

Video: Brainwriting technique explained (3:09 min.)

The video suggests an ideal of six people for a brainwriting exercise, but this tool can work well with 4-8 people.

---

Step by step:

1. Set the focus: Clarify the topic, question, or other prompt that will serve as the focus for everyone's idea generation.

2. Limit the time: Have a time constraint of 10 or so minutes to encourage people to stay focused and productive.

3. Get started: Give each participant a sheet of paper. Have them write down all their ideas or solutions. They don't need to elaborate, but each idea as written should be understandable to the reader.

4. Rotate and build: After the initial writing phase, pass the sheets to the next person, who reads the ideas already written and builds on them by adding new thoughts or perspectives.

5. Continue the rotation: Continue passing the sheets around the group, allowing each participant to read previous contributions and expand on them until everyone has contributed to each sheet.

6. Collect and review: Gather all the sheets and review the compiled ideas generated during the brainwriting session.

7. Work with the ideas: Now start talking about the output. Discuss, combine, and refine the ideas. The group will have a lot to work with.

---

See Affinity Diagram. It's similar to brainwriting, with the added step of having participants sort all the generated ideas into common categories.

Here are tips for using this tool in an online meeting: • Provide a document to each person for silent idea writing. • After a set time, have everyone share their doc with someone else. • Rotate the docs for maximum input, then review all together.