You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on running a brainstorming meeting.
Brainstorming sessions can be a great way to generate new ideas, whether you're naming a new product, thinking of ways to cut costs or figuring out ways of solving tricky business problems.
But running and participating in a brainstorming session can be a challenge.
Groups need to feel comfortable and open but still maintain focus.
And everyone involved needs to be diplomatic about how they suggest and respond to ideas.
Fortunately, there are techniques and language that you can use to make brainstorming more effective.
Today, we'll look at some of this language.
We'll cover language the facilitator can use to invite new ideas, ask for clarification and qualify ideas.
And we'll also look at useful techniques for participating, such as building on someone else's idea and introducing new ones.
In the dialogue, we'll hear several people who work at a coffee shop in a busy commercial area.
The shop is facing increased competition and they want to brainstorm ways of attracting new customers and keeping their current customers coming back.
The brainstorming session is being led by Sally, who's the manager of the shop.
We'll also hear Melissa, Noah, and Eric, who are employees.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, Noah mentions an online loyalty program.
Melissa uses this idea to introduce another one.
What is it?
Two, what new idea does Eric introduce that relates to relationships and such?
Three, how does Sally respond to Eric's new idea?
Okay, well, let's get rolling, shall we?
Noah's shift starts at five, so we don't have all day.
Now, we're all clear on the ground rules, right?
Sure thing.
Okay, so we need to come up with some ideas on how we can beef up sales and get more customers through the door.
Any and all ideas welcome at this stage.
Well, here's a big one, I think.
We don't currently have any kind of loyalty program.
For example, maybe we have people sign up online and then we send them coupons.
I think a loyalty program could work really well.
Okay, loyalty program.
Good.
Let me get some of that up here.
Um, just to add to what Noah said about the whole online idea, I think we really underutilize social media.
I mean, we've got quite a few friends on Facebook and a ton of Twitter followers, but we haven't really leveraged those relationships.
Yeah, that's true.
And there are companies out there that can help us generate buzz.
Right.
Social media.
Great stuff.
Anyone else?
Talking about relationships, and such one idea might be to partner more with other merchants in the area.
Okay.
Could you be a bit more specific, Eric?
What kind of thing do you have in mind?
Well, think about the salon next door.
They want to provide a complete experience for their customers, right?
Well, they could be serving our coffee.
And other stuff, too.
Okay, so partnering with other merchants.
Though just to keep our scope clear here, that's not exactly about increasing in-store sales.
Am I right there?
Not directly, no.
But indirectly, for sure.
Those customers... And it's not just the salon, but it's all the other shops around here, too.
If their customers have a chance to try our products, then many would make their way in later.
Okay, I see what you're saying.
Great ideas so far.
Let's see what else we can come up with here.
And Melissa, you have something?
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques the facilitator and participants used in their brainstorming session.
Okay, well, let's get rolling, shall we?
Noah's shift starts at 5, so we don't have all day.
Now, we're all clear on the ground rules, right?
Sure thing.
Yep.
Sally starts out by making sure everyone is clear on the ground rules.
The grad rules of any kind of meeting are the guidelines for how people should participate.
Since the participants are clear on this, Sally opens the session up for ideas.
OK, so we need to come up with some ideas on how we can beef up sales and get more customers through the door.
Any and all ideas welcome at this stage.
Sally starts off by reminding the group of the meeting's goal to come up with ideas for getting more customers.
And one of the basic principles of brainstorming is that there are no good or bad ideas.
People should feel welcome to come up with or suggest anything at all.
That's why she says any and all ideas are welcome.
In this way, Sally is inviting initial ideas on the topic.
As a facilitator.
What are some other ways of inviting ideas and making everyone feel comfortable to suggest ideas?
Let's practice a few more.
Can I get everyone's first thoughts on this?
Let's just put up any ideas we can think of.
So, give me some ideas here.
Everything's good at this point.
Okay, who's got something to throw up here?
Anyone?
Let's hear how the group starts suggesting different ideas.
Well, here's a big one, I think.
We don't currently have any kind of loyalty program.
For example, maybe we have people sign up online and then we send them coupons.
I think a loyalty program could work really well.
Okay, loyalty program.
Good.
Let me get some of that up here.
Noah has suggested an online loyalty or customer rewards program, and Sally responds with positive encouragement.
She doesn't evaluate the idea.
She just wants to create an open environment and record what people say.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue as Melissa suggests another idea.
Just to add to what Noah said about the whole online idea.
I think we really underutilize social media.
I mean, we've got quite a few friends on Facebook and a ton of Twitter followers, but we haven't really leveraged those relationships.
When we participate in brainstorming, we often build on other people's ideas.
In this case, Noah's idea of an online loyalty program leads Melissa to think that they should find better ways to use social media.
So to suggest this new idea, she first mentions Noah's suggestion.
This helps to create some continuity across the ideas and it shows that she's listening to the other participants.
What are some other ways of building on other people's ideas?
Let's try a few more.
Can I just add something to that last idea?
Susan mentioned hiring policies and I just want to build on that.
Continuing with the theme of investment, maybe we could look into buying the property.
On the topic of the website I have another suggestion.
Melissa has acknowledged Noah's idea, and now we can hear how he responds to hers.
Yeah, that's true.
And there are companies out there that can help us generate buzz.
Right.
Social media.
Great stuff.
Anyone else?
Noah seems to agree with Melissa and adds a little suggestion to her social media idea.
In this way, we can see how the participants are responding to each other and building up good ideas.
And once again, Sally responds positively, repeating the idea and saying great stuff before opening it up to other people.
As the facilitator.
You don't want brainstorming to be dominated by one or two people, so you need to make sure everyone's involved.
This opens the door for Eric.
Talking about relationships, and such one idea might be to partner more with other merchants in the area.
Eric is doing a bit of building on others' ideas too.
He takes the idea of relationships from Melissa's comment and then introduces another new idea.
How does he do it?
He says one idea might be to...
This little introduction and especially the word might is careful or diplomatic.
It's a way of saying this is one possibility rather than I have the right answer.
Let's practice some more careful ways of introducing ideas using modals like might, could, and can.
I was thinking that maybe we could have live music at the launch.
How about this?
We can have video testimonials from real customers.
Another thing we might consider is a classical name like Spartan.
Just to add another idea, the lighting in the lobby could be improved.
Eric has suggested partnering with other merchants.
But what exactly does that mean?
Sally wants to know.
Okay, could you be a bit more specific, Eric?
What kind of thing do you have in mind?
As the facilitator, Sally wants to invite and record people's ideas, but it's important that those ideas are clear and specific.
Only clear and specific ideas are useful.
But Sally doesn't just say, what does that mean?
She's careful in her language, asking Eric politely if he could be a bit more specific.
Those words help to soften her request for clarification, and she rephrases it as well, asking him what kind of thing he is thinking about.
How else can we ask for clarification in a brainstorming session?
Let's run through some more examples.
What exactly do you mean by aggressive marketing approaches?
Could you just explain a bit more of what type of events you're thinking about?
When you say 21st century look and feel, what are you suggesting?
Can you tell us what kinds of efficiencies you think we can find?
Let's hear Eric explain his idea in more detail and see how Sally responds.
Well, think about the salon next door.
They want to provide a complete experience for their customers, right?
Well, they could be serving our coffee and other stuff, too.
Okay, so partnering with other merchants.
Though just to keep our scope clear here, that's not exactly about increasing in-store sales.
Am I right there?
After hearing Eric's explanation, Sally acknowledges his original idea.
That helps to make Eric feel that his idea has been heard.
But remember that their purpose is to find ways to increase sales and get more customers.
Does partnering with other merchants do that?
Sally wants to make sure it does and to remind Eric and the others of their scope or the goal and range of their discussion.
She doesn't want to shut him down, so she softens her statement by saying Eric's idea is not exactly about increasing sales and by asking him to confirm what she says.
When you run a brainstorming session, you need to acknowledge and accept all ideas.
But if they seem to be off topic, you can qualify them to maintain focus.
Let's practice some more ways of qualifying ideas.
I'm not so sure that our dress code is part of our branding, but let's leave it up there.
I just wanted to say that cut costs would have to apply only to the office budget.
Sure, we can expand our product line, but I don't know if that's possible this year or not.
We've got lease a larger space here, but remember we're talking about things that wouldn't cost us more.
How does Eric respond to Sally's qualification?
Not directly no, but indirectly for sure.
Those customers, and it's not just the salon, but it's all the other shops around here too.
If their customers have a chance to try our products, then many would make their way in later.
Eric actually takes the chance to make his idea even clearer, explaining how partnering with other merchants will lead to more customers.
So Sally's requests for clarification and her qualification have helped to bring Eric's idea into focus.
And now that his ideas are clear, she praises the group and invites more ideas.
Okay, I see what you're saying.
Great ideas so far.
Let's see what else we can come up with here.
And Melissa, you have something?
Once again, Sally says great ideas to keep the mood positive, before asking for more suggestions from the others.
We'll have to wait until the next lesson to find out what these other ideas are.
Now, let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you were part of a brainstorming session that has been called to find ways to cut costs without reducing staff numbers.
To start off with.
You'll play the role of the facilitator and then switch to one of the participants.
Then you'll switch back to the facilitator for the last step.
I'll give you a cue telling you what you need to do.
Follow the cue to make an effective statement.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Start off by asking for everyone's first thoughts on the issue.
Okay, can I get everyone's first thoughts on this issue?
Now, as a participant, introduce an idea about reducing paper and ink usage.
I was thinking that maybe we could reduce paper and ink usage.
Another colleague has suggested reducing travel costs.
You want to build on the idea by saying employees should fly less.
On the topic of travel costs, I think that our employees should fly less.
A colleague has just suggested energy efficiency.
Ask for clarification on this point.
Could you explain what you mean by energy efficiency?
A participant has mentioned hiring more interns.
As a facilitator, qualify the idea by saying that cutting costs shouldn't reduce staff numbers.
Yes, we can hire more interns, but we can't reduce our staff numbers.
Now, let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear... You can say...
We hired a PR company to help us generate buzz about our new product.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Let's hold an event on the weekend to help get more people through the Answer.
Let's hold an event on the weekend to help get more people through the door.
Customers can earn free products through our new loyalty.
Answer.
Customers can earn free products through our new loyalty program.
What did you have in... when you mentioned having a staff party?
Answer.
What did you have in mind when you mentioned having a staff party?
It's already 9.15, so I think we should get this meeting...
Answer It's already 9.15, so I think we should get this meeting rolling.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series on brainstorming.
We've learned how to invite initial ideas, build on other people's ideas, and ask for clarification.
We've also learned how to introduce a new idea and to qualify an idea.
In the next lesson we'll hear some more great ideas and some more great techniques you can use in brainstorming sessions.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
