What’s really sabotaging group brainstorms, and how can we create space for better ideas? In this episode of Now Go Create, Claire Bridges digs into why classic brainstorming often disappoints and lays out practical steps to get more from your next creative session.

This episode unpacks the default pitfalls of group ideation: lack of facilitation, untrained listening, and a tendency for ideas to circle the drain instead of sparking breakthroughs. Drawing from research, personal experience, and tried-and-tested exercises, creativity trainer Claire offers actionable alternatives and fresh thinking tools to upgrade any creative meeting.

Key Takeaways:

• Listening is the missing ingredient. Most people wait for airtime; the real magic happens when you’re willing to be changed by what you hear, not just waiting to speak.
• Group brainstorming is flawed by “collaborative fixation.” After hearing the first ideas, teams unconsciously cluster around those, limiting originality.
• Silent brainstorming works. Start every session with a few minutes of silent individual idea generation to unlock more diverse contributions and include quieter voices.
• The best ideas rarely arrive in the room. Real insights often show up unexpectedly after the session; on a walk, in the shower, or in a stray conversation.
• Bias in capturing ideas is real. Who gets heard and whose ideas make it to the whiteboard is often about volume, not value. Counter this by capturing every idea and, where possible, co-facilitating.
• Change how you listen. Bring frameworks, creative triggers, and make listening a conscious team habit. The more you notice, the stronger your ideas become.

Something to Try

In your next meeting, do two minutes of silent brainstorming before anyone shares an idea. Try “filling in the blanks” prompts (“If this goes brilliantly, what happens…?”) during group discussion. After the brainstorm, ask team members to write down the one question or open idea still on their mind, and leave it visible for the days that follow; you’ll be amazed what turns up in that quiet afterwards.

About Claire Bridges:

Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative.

Claire worked as a PR agency Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission.

She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies.

Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 50,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011.

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14

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