“Speedy Problem Solving”
- Arrange participants so that each person is initially paired with another person.
- Instruct each person in a pair to introduce him/ herself and exchange business cards (these can be written out by each student beforehand).
- Instruct each pair to select which student will proceed with the activity first. The one who takes the first turn will take 30 seconds to explain a problem or situation they have. (E.g., "I have a training project where I'm trying to get buy-in from as many senior customer sales reps in a call center"; or, "I'm in a career transition and need to find creative ways to get my resume in front of decision makers.")
- After the first person explains her/his situation or problem, the other person in the pair will begin brainstorming wildly and furiously about any crazy thought or suggestion that comes to mind. In the meantime, the receiver will furiously write any and all ideas given. Do this for 1 minute (use a timer! [google: “stopwatch” then “countdown timer” = 1:30]).
- When the time's up, each pair should switch roles and repeat the process.
- After the second round, facilitate a swapping of partners so that new pairs are formed. Repeat the process two or three times.