Brainwriting is a game-changer for idea generation, especially if you've ever felt the frustration of a traditional brainstorming session. Instead of a chaotic, verbal free-for-all, it's a silent, structured process where everyone contributes equally.
Think of it this way: team members write down their ideas individually and then pass them on to others in timed rounds. This simple switch avoids common pitfalls like groupthink or the loudest person dominating the conversation. It creates a space where every single person can contribute their best thinking without interruption.
So, What's The Big Idea?
At its core, brainwriting swaps out loud, often messy, discussions for quiet, parallel work. We've all been in meetings where the first idea thrown out sets the tone for the entire session, or where introverted team members with brilliant thoughts never get a chance to speak up.
Brainwriting levels that playing field entirely. By making idea generation a silent, individual-first activity, you ensure every voice is captured. The result? A massive increase in both the number and the variety of ideas, because people have the freedom to think clearly and build on concepts without feeling pressured or judged.
Ever Heard of the 6-3-5 Method?
One of the most popular and effective versions of this is the 6-3-5 brainwriting technique. It was created way back in 1968 by a German marketing pro named Bernd Rohrbach, and its design is pure genius. The structure is simple: 6 participants each write down 3 ideas in 5 minutes.
When the five minutes are up, everyone passes their sheet to the person next to them. They then spend the next five minutes adding three new ideas, inspired by the ones they just received. For a detailed walkthrough, you can dive into our guide on the brainwriting 6-3-5 method.
The cycle continues for six rounds. Do the math: this process can generate an incredible 108 unique ideas in just 30 minutes. That’s a level of output that’s almost unheard of in a typical brainstorming meeting.
This method was first written about in the sales magazine Absatzwirtschaft, proving its practical value from day one. It’s more than just another meeting format; it’s a smart system for tapping into your team's collective brainpower, minus the noise.
To really see the difference, let’s compare brainwriting directly with the brainstorming sessions most of us are used to.
Brainwriting vs Traditional Brainstorming
The table below breaks down the key differences in how these two methods work, who participates, and what kind of results you can expect. It's a clear look at why so many teams are making the switch.
| Feature | Brainwriting Technique | Traditional Brainstorming |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Silent, individual writing in structured rounds | Spoken, free-form, and often unstructured |
| Participation | Equal contribution from all members is guaranteed | Often dominated by extroverts or senior staff |
| Idea Flow | Parallel generation; everyone creates ideas at once | Sequential; one person speaks at a time |
| Anonymity | Ideas are initially anonymous, reducing bias | Ideas are tied directly to the person who spoke |
| Outcome | High volume of diverse and well-developed ideas | Fewer ideas, often influenced by groupthink |
| Environment | Quiet, focused, and non-judgmental | Can be chaotic, competitive, or intimidating |
As you can see, brainwriting is designed for inclusion and efficiency. It systematically removes the social barriers that can stifle creativity, allowing the best ideas—not the loudest voices—to rise to the top.
Why Brainwriting Is a Game-Changer for Remote Teams
When your team is spread out, the old way of brainstorming just doesn't cut it. The usual challenges—video call fatigue, spotty Wi-Fi, and the chaos of everyone trying to talk at once—can quickly kill a creative session.
This is where brainwriting really shines. It's a silent, written approach that bypasses all those remote work hurdles. Team members across different time zones can jump in when it works for them, so no one gets left out. Forget about talking over each other or losing a brilliant idea to a bad connection.
Everyone Gets a Voice
The real magic of brainwriting for distributed teams is how it creates genuine psychological safety. When you ask people to write their ideas down instead of saying them out loud, the pressure just melts away.
Your introverted team members or junior staff, who might normally hang back, can share their thoughts with the same confidence as everyone else. It levels the playing field, making sure ideas are judged on their own merit, not on who was the loudest or most assertive in the meeting.
By making idea generation more organized and ensuring every voice is heard, brainwriting can seriously increase team productivity. It turns ideation from a high-pressure performance into a truly collaborative effort.
A Smarter Way to Build on Ideas
Brainwriting isn’t just about getting that first wave of ideas out. It’s incredibly effective for building on them. As ideas get passed around digitally in a tool like Bulby, your team can add new layers, connect different thoughts, and refine concepts.
This structured, iterative process is a perfect fit for remote work. It’s organized, transparent, and everyone can see how an idea evolves.
To get the best results, guide the session with thoughtful prompts. I've found that it helps to ask open-ended questions that spark creativity without boxing people in. For remote teams, that kind of clarity is what unlocks the full potential of every single person, no matter where they’re logging in from.
How to Prepare a Remote Brainwriting Session
Any good facilitator knows that a successful session is won long before anyone joins the call. This is especially true when you're using the brainwriting technique with a remote team. Your first job is to craft a rock-solid problem statement. It needs to be a guiding star—specific enough to give clear direction but broad enough to let creativity flourish.
For example, a vague goal like "improve marketing" will get you vague ideas. Instead, sharpen the focus. Try something like, "How might we increase free trial sign-ups from our blog content by 20%?" Now that's a target your team can sink their teeth into.
With your problem defined, you'll need to pick your digital tools. Sure, a basic shared document can work in a pinch, but a purpose-built tool like Bulby is designed to make the whole process smoother. It manages the flow, organizes the ideas, and keeps the tech frustrations out of the way. A clean, intuitive digital space is non-negotiable for keeping the focus on ideas, not on troubleshooting.
Setting the Stage for Success
Think of your meeting invitation as more than just a calendar block. It’s your pre-session briefing, the document that gets everyone aligned and ready to contribute the second they log on.
Your invite should clearly lay out:
- The Problem Statement: State the exact question the team will be tackling.
- A Quick Agenda: A simple schedule, including the timed rounds and discussion block.
- The "Rules of Play": A gentle reminder about silent ideation and the importance of building on others' ideas.
A well-structured prep phase eliminates ambiguity and allows the team to focus entirely on creativity, not logistics. For more foundational tips, check out our guide on https://www.remotesparks.com/how-to-run-a-brainstorm-session/.
This kind of structured thinking isn't just for generating solutions. It's also fantastic for getting ahead of potential problems. For instance, you can learn more about mastering project pre-mortems to see how foresight can help with risk management.
When you send these materials out ahead of time, you're not just giving people information; you're priming them for a session of deep, focused work. That simple act of preparation is what separates a chaotic free-for-all from a highly productive brainwriting session.
Alright, you've done the prep work. Now it's time to actually run the session. As the facilitator, your real job is to make the process itself disappear so your team can focus purely on creativity. This is where a dedicated tool like Bulby really shines, since it handles the mechanics of the session for you.
To kick things off, get everyone on the same page. Start by clearly restating the problem you’re trying to solve. Then, give a quick and confident walkthrough of how the session will unfold. A key point to stress is that the first few rounds are all about silent, independent brainstorming. It's a numbers game at this stage—the goal is quantity, not a single perfect idea right out of the gate.
Navigating the Idea Rounds
Once the silent ideation begins, your role shifts to that of a quiet timekeeper. If you're using Bulby, participants will be jotting down their ideas on digital cards. You just need to keep an eye on the clock and give gentle nudges when a round is about to end. When the time is up, the tool automatically passes everyone's ideas along for the next person to build on.
This is the magic of brainwriting. It’s where one person's initial thought sparks a new connection for someone else, letting ideas cross-pollinate and grow. Good facilitation here means trusting the structure and staying out of the way. Let your team work.
The core of a great session is this simple, three-part flow: silent ideation, idea exchange, and group review.
From Ideas to Action: Clustering and Discussion
After the final round, the quiet part is over, and it's time to talk. Your digital board will be covered in ideas, which can feel a bit chaotic. Your next move is to guide the team in organizing them. You’ll start grouping similar concepts together, bringing some structure to all that creative output.
This is what a shared digital workspace might look like as ideas are collected and organized.
As you start dragging ideas into thematic clusters, you can open the floor for discussion. Walk through each cluster one by one. This is the team's chance to ask clarifying questions and talk through what they see.
The goal here isn't to judge, but to understand. Encourage curiosity and make sure every voice is heard. This kind of inclusive conversation is what builds real team buy-in for the ideas you eventually choose.
To wrap things up, lead the team in a simple prioritization exercise, like dot voting, to pinpoint which ideas have the most heat. Your role as the facilitator is to make sure the session concludes with a clear sense of direction and actionable next steps. These are the kinds of facilitation skills that make any remote workshop successful, and you can always sharpen them with resources that offer facilitation skills training.
Making Your Brainwriting Session Truly Creative
So you've got the basic structure down. But how do you take a session from just "good" to genuinely great? Experienced facilitators have a few tricks up their sleeves, and they're surprisingly simple.
One of my favorites is to kick things off with a quick warm-up. This isn't about tackling the main problem yet; it’s about getting everyone's brain into a more creative gear. For example, you could ask the team to spend two minutes coming up with the absolute worst ways to solve a silly, unrelated problem, like "How would you get a cat out of a tree?" It’s fun, lowers the stakes, and immediately signals that even wild ideas are welcome here.
The whole point of a brainwriting technique is to get a high volume of ideas first, without worrying about quality. When you actively ask for "bad" or impractical ideas, you give people permission to stop self-censoring. You'd be amazed how often a ridiculous suggestion sparks a truly brilliant, practical one.
How to Handle Common Roadblocks
Time management is your best friend here. Sticking to the clock for each round creates a healthy sense of urgency and prevents people from getting bogged down in overthinking.
But what happens when someone just draws a blank? It happens. Just remind them it's completely fine to pass on a round or jot down the very first thing that pops into their head, no matter how tiny. The structure is a guide, not a straitjacket.
The big secret? The most innovative ideas are often hiding inside the "bad" ones. Encouraging impractical thinking is the fastest way to break down creative walls and find those unexpected gems.
If you're looking to build out your toolkit of ideation techniques, we have a great guide covering various creative problem-solving methods.
As the facilitator, your main job is to be the guardian of the creative space. Here are a few things I do to keep the energy and ideas flowing:
- Praise the Volume: After each round, make a point to say something like, "Wow, look at how many ideas we generated in just a few minutes!" This reinforces the goal.
- Use Visual Nods: When using a tool like Bulby, drop an emoji or a simple tag on ideas that seem particularly interesting. It's a great way to highlight things without interrupting the flow.
- Reiterate the Purpose: Gently remind everyone that you're just exploring possibilities. No one is signing a contract or committing to a final plan at this stage.
By planning for these little hiccups and creating a playful, open vibe, you'll set the stage for a brainwriting session that truly taps into your team's collective genius.
Common Questions About Brainwriting
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Even with a perfect plan in place, trying a new technique like brainwriting for the first time will naturally bring up a few questions. I've run into the same ones time and again with teams, so let's walk through the most common hurdles you might face.
A frequent hang-up is group size. The classic 6-3-5 brainwriting method is built for six people, but what happens when you have a team of 10? Don't sweat it. The beauty of this technique is its flexibility.
You can easily adapt. My go-to solution is to simply run two smaller, parallel groups of five people. Or, you can just adjust the numbers to fit your crew. For instance, a "10-2-4" session would have 10 people each contribute two ideas over four-minute rounds. The core framework is what matters—silent contributions, timed rounds, and passing ideas—not the exact numbers.
What If Someone Is Hesitant?
Another thing that often comes up is how to encourage those quieter team members. Some people can freeze up when put on the spot for ideas, even in a silent setting. This is all about creating a space that feels genuinely safe.
As the facilitator, you have a few tools to help with this:
- Hammer home the "no bad ideas" rule. I always make a point to say that we're aiming for quantity over quality at this stage. Wild, off-the-wall ideas are not only welcome but encouraged, as they often lead to the most practical breakthroughs.
- Run a quick warm-up. Before diving into the main event, try a simple, low-stakes creative prompt. It helps ease everyone into the right headspace.
- Keep it anonymous. This is where a tool like Bulby really shines. When ideas aren't tied directly to individuals, the fear of judgment practically disappears.
The goal here is simple: lower the pressure. When people feel safe enough to throw anything at the wall without fear of critique, you'll unlock a far richer pool of creative thinking.
How Do We Pick the Best Ideas?
Okay, so you’ve finished the session and now you’re staring at a mountain of great ideas. How do you sift through them all and decide what to act on without letting personal bias creep in?
The key is to use a structured, transparent process. I always start by grouping similar ideas or concepts into broader themes. This makes the list much less overwhelming.
From there, a simple voting method works wonders. Dot voting is a classic for a reason—give each person a few virtual "dots" to place on their favorite ideas. It's a quick, democratic way to see which concepts have the most team energy behind them. Finally, you can have a focused discussion about the top-voted ideas to outline clear, actionable next steps.
Ready to lead a brainwriting session that guarantees every voice is heard? Bulby guides your team through a structured process, turning silent ideation into powerful results. Try it now and see the difference at https://www.bulby.com.