Okay, so what are some things that bug you about "brain-storming" sessions during workshops and seminars?

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I am ready to write down your responses.

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:31 (twenty-one years ago)

The fact that I'm there.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

THE FACT THAT I AM HERE.

Okay. What else?

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

What else really annoys you when the facilitator asks you to contribute?

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Did you forget to have your coffee this morning?

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

* The Faux Atmosphere of Enthusiasm - it'd better to just have a laugh and come up with something in the last few minutes, it's not as if the day will have any bearing on anything.

* The pick-on the cynic vibe

* The that's a good point but...

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

1) Flip chart paper is thin and ugly.

2) Flip chart pens are crap and ugly.

3) You're not supposed to call it 'brainstorming' because of epilepsy.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Can you draw smiley faces on the charts?

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:42 (twenty-one years ago)

when someone pipes up that it's not-pc to say brain storming and then ppl come up with twee versions that are not meant to offend. which is bollox (and PCGM obv).

― ja (_ja_), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

THE FAKE ATMOSPHERE OF ENTHUSIASM. BETTER TO JUST HAVE A LAUGH. WON'T REALLY MATTER.

THE "PICK ON THE CYNIC" VIBE.

THE "THAT'S A GOOD POINT BUT..."

Those are all good points. How about some of you in the back?

x-post: I can't write that fast guys. Hahahaha.

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:52 (twenty-one years ago)

What are you brainstorming? Maybe the ILX hivemind can help??

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i hate brainstorming so much - especially when some busy body gets out a chalk board and starts drawing some elaborate graph of the brainstorm. Like in the middle is this shitty idea, and then all these other shitty ideas stem off the original shitty idea. DUD DUD DUD.

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

FLIP CHARTS: UGLY AND CHEAP

BRAINSTORMING: NOT CORRECT TERM.

(I've never heard that before.)

"TWEE" EUPHEMISMS USED FOR BRAINSTORMING.

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

'THOUGHTSHOWER'

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

We're brainstorming brainstorming.

Lunch break.

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

brainstorms on a white board are somehow much eviler than brainstorms on a chalk board.

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't have to "brainstorm" because no one cares what I think.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

http://homepage.mac.com/elliottday/theoffice/images/guitar/timgarethbrentguitar.jpg

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

It's because of the squeeek squeeek sound of the whiteboard markers as the "chairperson" writes enthusiastically.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

all the dorky old men around here who invariably see a robotic arm as the ultimate solution to any problem.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, use of the terms "Bioinfomatics" and "Metrics", whatever the hell those means.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 15:59 (twenty-one years ago)

In Japan they grow little idea bubbles out of their ears, I saw it an advert.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 16:00 (twenty-one years ago)

A robotic arm would be pretty great!

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

can we order chinese food?

― cindy williams permafrost (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, the lunch break went over a couple hours, however--Getting back to the question? What's the one thing about workshop/training brain-storming sessions that is so annoying? What are some of your ideas about what the most annoying thing is. You know THE MOST ANNOYING THING?

― RS, Tuesday, 17 May 2005 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

You know, when they ask you to come up with a list of lots of phrases or ideas, which they dutifully write down, but all the while they are just--just looking--just fishing. . .

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Fishing for. . . something they. . .

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

for the obvious?
That's what I hate, when the answers are just so blooming already there and they just want you to get them on flip charts.

and I hate the meetings that start off with:
"This session is going to be INTERACTIVE!!"
Aaargh!!

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:10 (twenty-one years ago)

"Just say anything you can think of there's no such thing as a bad or stupid idea"

YES THERE FUCKING WELL IS!

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:25 (twenty-one years ago)

.. and then we spend 10 minutes talking about why that last idea won't work.

― diedre mousedropping and a quarter (Dave225), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

All of ours turn into what I would call 'blamestorms'

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate when the presenter asks for input, but really he is only looking for one particular thing. Then when someone finally says that thing, he acts like we all reached this point together. Everybody knows it was all a set-up though.

― Super Cub (Debito), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Even if you have a good session all of your ideas will remain written in a notebook and nothing will ever ever come to fruition, or at least until:

1) You have left the company
2) The idea's time is really over

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:38 (twenty-one years ago)

The facilitator invariably says "there are no wrong answers".

A good way to test this is to 'brainstorm' "LET'S ALL GIVE UP WORK AND BECOME HIGHLY PAID pr0n STARS!". This is almost always a "wrong" answer, I have found.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 10:56 (twenty-one years ago)

i second or third the robotic arm idea. can we have one now please?

― ja (_ja_), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 11:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I must however approve the methods of our last facilitator, who put us into random groups by means of different chocolate bars taped underneath our chairs.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Did you get to eat the chocolate bars? It would be a bit disappointing if you didn't.

― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

and a bit mean

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 14:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes! We did. Luckily, since the buffet lunch was fucking rubbish...

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I love it when management types start writing on the white boards but they haven't learned yet (after X years) that you have to hold the back end of the marker higher than the tip for the ink to flow, so after a minute or two the marker dries out. They shake it and try again with no success, then move on to another marker, getting more and more frustrated in the process.

Also, "Think outside the box."

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

six years pass...

facilitator misspelling the word "classical" when discussing "the history of education" in a room full of educators
(hypothetical example, of course)

― it was pleasant and delightful, just like (La Lechera), Friday, 5 August 2011 18:51 (fourteen years ago)

"facilitator"

― it was pleasant and delightful, just like (La Lechera), Friday, 5 August 2011 18:52 (fourteen years ago)

cliche abuse

― it was pleasant and delightful, just like (La Lechera), Friday, 5 August 2011 19:00 (fourteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSCvzVmh40

― orinoco flowbee (get bent), Friday, 5 August 2011 19:54 (fourteen years ago)

people who spell "discreet" wrong

― orinoco flowbee (get bent), Friday, 5 August 2011 19:55 (fourteen years ago)

spending a full 50% of a 2.5 hr workshop on ice breakers

― it was pleasant and delightful, just like (La Lechera), Friday, 5 August 2011 19:57 (fourteen years ago)

like, performing the ice breaker (not talking about various ice breakers)

― it was pleasant and delightful, just like (La Lechera), Friday, 5 August 2011 19:58 (fourteen years ago)

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