{"id":24082,"date":"2017-02-15T22:52:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T22:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/?p=24082"},"modified":"2021-06-10T11:34:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T18:34:58","slug":"7-exercises-create-dozens-content-ideas-30-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/blog\/7-exercises-create-dozens-content-ideas-30-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Exercises to Create Dozens of Content Ideas in 30 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is repurposed from our new book, “The Content Marketer’s Guide to Ideation.” This massive 187-page guide is available free as a PDF (get it here<\/a>),\u00a0and is also available in Kindle<\/a> and paperback<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sometimes you need to produce a lot of new content ideas, fast. You have a documented content strategy, a list of topics, and you and\/or your team are well-equipped with personas, research and data-points. You need a way to funnel all of those ideas trapped in you and your team member\u2019s heads into one place.<\/p>\n

The seven exercises in this article can be used to generate dozens of ideas, all within a 30 minutes time frame. There\u2019s no need for back-and-forth emails, a Slack channel, or serendipitous lightbulb moments. These exercises are all about forcing content ideas out.<\/p>\n

Several of the exercises use quotas to ensure that meeting participants keep their minds moving and not satisfied with their output. While searching for ideas, the human mind defaults to looking for the single best one before shutting down the search. By setting a quota, you can overcome that problem. Keep that in mind while using and adapting these exercises for your own needs.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 10-20-30<\/li>\n
  2. Post-Up<\/li>\n
  3. Affinity Mapping<\/li>\n
  4. Information Mapping<\/li>\n
  5. Group Brainmapping<\/li>\n
  6. 6-3-5 Brainwriting<\/li>\n
  7. Poster Session<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Graphics-12\"<\/p>\n

    1. 10-20-30<\/h2>\n

    When participants are knowledgeable and well researched, ideation can be as simple as giving them the channel to unleash their ideas. 10-20-30 is a great game for generating a large raw number of ideas in a short time span. It can also be used to as a warm up for another group ideation exercise.<\/p>\n

    The Exercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Give your team two minutes to brainstorm 10 ideas. Keep a timer, give them a warning when time is running out, and stop them at exactly the two-minute mark.<\/li>\n
    2. Give them four minutes to brainstorm 20 ideas.<\/li>\n
    3. Give them six minutes to brainstorm 30 ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      From end to end, you should have developed 60 ideas in 15 minutes of meeting time. Of course, you’ll want to make sure your team isn’t walking unprepared into the meeting. Give them research, strategy, and prompts before going into the meeting.<\/p>\n

      You can also use this pragmatic exercise to kick off a longer-form ideation meeting. Schedule a meeting for an hour, then start with this exercise. If you generated a lot of good ideas, then stop the meeting after completing 10-20-30. If you didn’t, it\u2019s likely that you need to revisit your topics and find new ones, or do further research.<\/p>\n

      \"10-20-30<\/p>\n

      From: The Big Book of Brainstorming Games by Mary Scannell and Mike Mulvihill<\/em><\/p>\n

      2. Post-Up<\/h2>\n

      The Post-Up is a critical tool for generating ideas. When information is held within people’s\u2019 heads, the Post-Up is the tool for getting it out of those heads as efficiently as possible. It\u2019s a tremendous formal group exercise for putting disparate data points to work.<\/p>\n

      While many writer-types like to use free-form writing, Post-Ups require the wordy to be succinct. That\u2019s what makes this exercise work so efficiently in a group setting.<\/p>\n

      Another added benefit of Post-Ups in group settings is that they require participation from all group members without having people sitting and waiting for their turn.<\/p>\n

      \"Post<\/p>\n

      The goal of the Post-Up is to generate a wall full of information related to your core topic or business problem. The most effective way to execute a Post-Up is to use a physical wall or whiteboard, but you may find it much more efficient to use a digital mind-mapping tool.<\/p>\n

      The Exercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Clarify the goal of the exercise before you gather a group in a room. What is your core topic or problem that you\u2019re looking for ideas about? Give participants time to prepare.<\/li>\n
      2. Write each of your topics on a sticky note. Post your sticky notes on the board until there are no sticky notes left to post.<\/li>\n
      3. As your colleagues post notes on the board, think about ways to leverage their topics into new topics and ideas to create new sticky notes.<\/li>\n
      4. Place new sticky notes on the board<\/li>\n
      5. Take a photo of the board, or, if possible, leave it up for several days for everyone on your team to see.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Keep your own self-talk and group chatter to a minimum\u2014talking or reasoning through ideas will distract from the completion of the exercise. Don\u2019t remove notes, second guess choices, or move any of the sticky notes while working through this exercise. Avoid your impulse to organize the sticky notes during the exercise.<\/p>\n

        This article is repurposed from our new book, “The Content Marketer’s Guide to Ideation.” This massive 187-page guide is available free as a PDF (get it here<\/a>),\u00a0and is also available in Kindle<\/a> and paperback<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

        <\/h2>\n

        3. Affinity Mapping<\/h2>\n

        Once you\u2019ve documented topics and ideas, it helps to lay them out in columns. Kanban boards are a project management tool that can be a great visual design tool for ideators. Try Trello if you\u2019re looking for a fast digital version.<\/p>\n

        Affinity Mapping is a clustering activity that gets all of your ideas out into the physical world and helps bucket them into common themes. If you’re looking for a way to place your content ideas into an organized framework, the Affinity Map is your best tool. Affinity Mapping is also great for generating list post ideas.<\/p>\n

        \"Affinity<\/p>\n

        This can be done individually or in a group setting, with very large groups if necessary. Affinity Maps work best if you\u2019ve collected a lot of disparate data points that need organization before specific paths or topics can be pursued. Gather 30 to 100 of them on index cards or sticky notes.<\/p>\n

        The Exercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Create three columns on a whiteboard, sheet of paper, or Trello. Don\u2019t name the columns just yet – you don’t want to try to force your ideas into specific columns.<\/li>\n
        2. Write out up to 100 cards\u2014sticky notes or index cards\u2014with your collected data points.<\/li>\n
        3. Spread your cards out on a table where all can be seen.<\/li>\n
        4. Place cards in each column, according to the patterns you perceive they fit in. If working in a group, allow group members to post cards in the columns themselves.<\/li>\n
        5. If a card doesn’t fit in your three columns, place it in a visible space outside of your Affinity Map.<\/li>\n
        6. If a card is so similar to another that it’s redundant, place it on top of the other card. By not throwing out redundant ideas, you begin to see which ideas multiple people are thinking about.<\/li>\n
        7. If you need additional columns, feel free to add one or two.
          \nName the columns. Don’t spend more than a few minutes doing so. The names aren’t as important as agreeing on all the card choices within the categories.<\/li>\n
        8. Affinity Mapping is not a clean process. As you add columns and rows to your board, you\u2019ll find that columns will be collapsed, items in rows need to be converted into columns, and that your brain will need to organize a lot of concepts before you\u2019re happy with the outcome.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          <\/h2>\n

          4. Information Mapping<\/h2>\n

          Information Maps help you break free of tired topics to create relationships across multiple topics and ideas. Sometimes Information Maps stretch you to relate an emotion, a memory, a motivation, or a fear back to your core topic, and sometimes they just help you to draw an interesting or helpful connection between a few of your topics.<\/p>\n

          Because of the unknown nature of outcomes and the fact that Information Maps are about generating understanding of a process, this tool is often overlooked. When you’re stuck, it’s one of those messy tools that always seem to produce something.<\/p>\n

          \"Information<\/p>\n

          Your Toolset:<\/strong><\/p>\n