Workshop, not talkshop

Brainstorming is a widely used group activity whereby the participants generate spontaneous ideas which are gathered and shared on, say, Post-it Notes. The ideation workshop, however, doesn't begin with brainstorming. Instead the partcipants start ideating alone, on their own initiative, and share their ideas at the end of the workshop. The workshop, moreover, in contrast to brainstorming, is more inclusive in that it allows a level playing field beween the participants. That is, in groups, the more extrovert participants, at ease with expressing themselves verbally, tend to drive brainstorming whereas the quiet ones are at risk of being overshadowed. Also, brainstorming sessions may be biased towards "groupthink" and as a result the outcome may not be representative of the full range of the group's ideas. Another difference is that in the workshop participants engage with a range of ideation tools, from sketching to rough modelling - not just words. The outcome of the workshop, then, produces more thoughtful and genuine ideas, and the ideas presentation becomes a shared learning experience.