Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 7d2ac0ae16a0eae85624fc8a0d047ddecca71d924a0571a1446ce7db58e4e22a

# Structured Sticky Note Brainstorming

Participants write ideas individually on sticky notes, post them to a shared board, and flag promising notes with a red mark to combine them into solutions.

**Time:** 35 minutes. UWT 35-minute plan based on the source's 10-minute individual writing, sequential sharing, and red-mark feedback turns.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual writing followed by table groups of 3 to 6 participants.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Generate a wide pool of alternative ideas on a single question and flag candidate concepts for combination without early criticism.
**Use it when:** Use when a team needs to generate many alternative angles on a shared challenge before committing to a single plan.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the team needs to evaluate an existing detailed budget or resolve an active interpersonal dispute.

## Materials and tools

- One pad of standard sticky notes per participant
- One black pen or fine-tip marker per participant
- One red marker per table group (or red digital pen tool online)
- One dedicated wall section, whiteboard, or poster board per table group
- Countdown timer
- Smartphone or laptop with camera per in-person group (hybrid setup only)

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange seating into table clusters of 3 to 6 participants (groups of 4 or 5 are ideal).
2. Distribute sticky note pads, black markers, and one red marker to each table.
3. Write the focal challenge question clearly on a surface visible to everyone in the room.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will gather fresh ideas for our challenge question. Our ground rules are simple: withhold all criticism, value every idea equally, and welcome wild suggestions. We will begin with 10 minutes of silent individual writing so everyone develops their own thoughts. Write one idea per note. Then each person will place their notes on the board, and we will use red marks to flag thoughts we want to combine.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce ground rules and write silently (10 minutes)

Display the focal prompt clearly. Read the opening script and establish the rules: no critique, prioritize quantity, and write short headlines of 3 to 7 words rather than long paragraphs. Start the timer for 10 minutes. Everyone works quietly, writing one idea per sticky note using their black marker.

### 2. Post and read notes in small groups (12 minutes)

Table groups of 3 to 6 people manage a total of 12 minutes to post their notes. Each person takes an equal share of time (approximately 90 to 120 seconds per person, leaving buffer time for transitions) to read their notes aloud and place them on the table's board. If a participant prefers not to speak, they may post their notes silently for peers to read, or ask a teammate to read them aloud. Listeners listen for clarity only and do not debate or critique.

### 3. Mark feedback and combine ideas (8 minutes)

Group members gather at their board. Anyone who spots an idea they want to build on, expand, or connect draws a red cross mark directly on that note. The group then rearranges notes to cluster similar ideas and drafts 1 or 2 combined concepts that unite different posted thoughts.

### 4. Share table highlights and debrief (5 minutes)

Regroup as a full room. Invite two volunteers from different tables to take 30 seconds each to share one unexpected combination from their board. Then run a whole-room debrief using one or two of the debrief questions.


## Debrief questions

- What shifted between your first obvious ideas and your later, more unusual ones?
- How did seeing your peers' posted notes change how you viewed the problem?
- What ground rules would make our next brainstorming round even more effective?

**Finished output:** A board of clustered sticky notes with red cross marks highlighting ideas selected for combination and further development.

## Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard with sticky note capabilities and digital drawing pens. Keep all participants together in the main room for the ground rules and the 10-minute silent typing session. Move participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people for 12 minutes to read their digital cards and place them on their team frame. Keep groups in breakouts for 8 minutes to draw red cross marks using the red digital pen tool (or add a red stamp shape) and cluster related cards. Return to the main meeting room for 5 minutes of brief volunteer shares and debrief.

## Hybrid

Form separate all-remote breakouts and all-in-person table groups. Remote groups work on a shared digital board while in-person groups work on physical boards. At the start of step 3, a designated volunteer from each in-person group takes a clear photo of their physical board and uploads it to the digital workspace so remote participants can view in-person boards during the full-room sharing and debrief.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may dictate ideas to a partner, type them on a personal device, or pass on verbal presenting during small-group rounds by posting notes silently or asking a peer to read them.
- Volunteering to speak during whole-room highlights and debrief is entirely optional.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant starts debating or criticizing an idea while a group member is posting notes.**

Intervene immediately and re-state the no-criticism rule. Direct the participant to wait until step 3, when they can place a red mark on the note to build on it or explore an alternative.

**Participants write lengthy paragraphs on their notes, making reading and posting slow.**

During the first two minutes of silent writing, remind the room that each note must be a short phrase. Provide a neutral example, such as writing 'Peer mentoring buddy' instead of writing three sentences explaining how a mentorship program functions.


## Terms used here

- Red cross mark: A plus or X mark drawn with a red marker directly onto a sticky note to show interest, suggest an addition, or target the note for combination.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the Project of How method repository under the title 'Brainstorming'.

Retained the core mechanics from the Project of How source: establishing ground rules, 10 minutes of individual writing, group presentation of notes, drawing a red cross mark to signal additions or feedback, and combining concepts. UWT structured the sequence into a balanced 35-minute agenda, clarified small-group posting time allocations across 3 to 6 members, established non-speaking posting options to protect access without breaking group flow, and specified digital drawing tools for remote implementation.

[Project of How](https://projectofhow.com/method/brainstorming/)

[Project of How](https://projectofhow.com/methods/brainstorming/)

[projectofhow.com](https://projectofhow.com/method-tag/brainstorming/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/brainstorming-project-of-how/