Many of us have taken part in traditional "Brainstorming" sessions. These are commonly used to generate ideas, and to come up with a creative solution to problems. But you can push your brainstorming sessions a little further by trying this approach:

Reverse Brainstorming

Reverse brainstorming can be used to provide a different perspective on a particular problem. This method helps you to solve problems by combining brainstorming and reversal techniques. By combining these, you can extend your use of brainstorming to draw out even more creative ideas.

To use this technique, you start with one of two "reverse" questions: 

  • Instead of asking, "How do I solve or prevent this problem?" ask, "How could I possibly cause the problem?
  • And instead of asking "How do I achieve these results?" ask, "How could I possibly achieve the opposite effect?"

Reverse brainstorming tries to solve the problem in a reversed way to the flow we already now. The method can influence the human mind to create better ideas and solutions.