Brainwriting is an idea generation method where each person silently writes down their proposals instead of speaking them aloud, and then enriches them with what others have written. It helps produce a large number of ideas in a short time without the most dominant voices in the group monopolizing the conversation.
Unlike classic brainstorming, where ideas are spoken aloud and noted on a whiteboard, brainwriting asks each participant to write down their ideas individually, usually on a template or a simple sheet of paper. Nobody explains or defends their idea orally: they just write it down and pass it on. Each new idea can be born from reading previous ones, which acts as a creative trigger without the need to expose oneself in front of the group.
It's a technique that relies on divergent thinking: the goal is not to find the best idea immediately, but to generate the widest possible variety before filtering.
In our workshops, we've seen the same pattern over and over again: in a spoken brainstorming session, two or three people end up contributing most of the ideas, while the rest of the team silently nods. Writing is more impersonal than speaking in front of others, and that lowers the barrier of exposure. The technique works particularly well for:
- Teams that are just getting to know each other and don't yet have the confidence to speak in public.
- Groups with marked hierarchies, where a boss or leader tends to monopolize the conversation.
- Introverted people who think better in writing than speaking on the spot.
A rule we always repeat when facilitating: a new idea should not imply criticism or judgment of previous ones. The goal of this stage is to add, not to filter.
The best-known variant of brainwriting is the 6-3-5 technique: 6 participants, 3 ideas each, in 5 minutes per round. Each person writes three ideas on a sheet or template, and after 5 minutes passes their sheet to the person next to them, who reads the previous ideas and adds three new ones (these can be variations of existing ones, or completely different ideas). After six rounds, each sheet has passed through all six people, and the entire group ends up with 108 written ideas (6 people x 3 ideas x 6 rounds).
In practice, with teams of 3 to 6 people — the size we use in most of our 2-day workshops — that exact number is not always reached, but the rotation logic is the same: each sheet becomes a thread of ideas that grows as it circulates.
Another simpler way to apply brainwriting, without sheet rotation, is the "idea list" dynamic: each team member has their own sheet or template and silently writes down as many ideas as they can think of to solve the stated problem, within a limited time (we usually use between 8 and 12 minutes). At the end, each person reads their complete list aloud while the rest just listens, without interrupting or commenting.
This variant is quicker to prepare than 6-3-5 because it doesn't require coordinating sheet rotations between tables, and it works well as a first step before applying a more structured method like the nominal group brainstorming.
| Situation | Brainwriting is suitable | Spoken brainstorming is suitable |
|---|
| Newly formed team | Yes | No |
| Group with marked hierarchies | Yes | No |
| Group energy and contagion needed | No | Yes |
| Remote session with many people connected | Yes | Difficult to coordinate |
| Very specific and technical problem | Yes | Can become unfocused |
The materials are basic: an "idea list" template or simply sheets of paper, pencils or markers, and a clock visible to everyone. Before the session, it's advisable to clearly identify the need or problem and to have validated the client-problem fit, so that the team doesn't waste time discussing the statement in the middle of the exercise.
A common mistake we see in workshops is launching the dynamic with an ambiguously formulated problem ("improve customer experience"); the best sessions start with a specific statement, such as "reduce waiting time at the branch" or "increase the response rate of the post-purchase survey."
Once the writing round is over, the work has just begun: ideas need to be classified by theme, weighted according to impact and effort factors, and those to be prototyped selected. Here, it's useful to move to a stage of convergent thinking supported by a prioritization matrix, before building a prototype of the ideas with the most potential.
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