FREE Brainstorming Companion We All Have Access To

Your rock needs to be really far away to have not heard of ChatGPT by now. On the other hand, you may not even wanted to click on this because you saw the words “ChatGPT”. Regardless of which camp you’re in, I’m sharing this because it’s crazy useful and something that has helped me personally, so I want to share it with you.
The uses for ChatGPT are so broad, from helping you create textual content, to coding entire websites. As the LLM’s get bigger and better, the functionality of GPT’s will only increase. Needless to say, there are many ways to utilize it. This is just one option for turning this 100% free online tool into something useful when we need it. I’m actually so onboard for personal assistant AI’s, but that’s another story.
Personally, I’m using it as a really powerful brainstorming companion & I’ll show you how.
You know that feeling, you hit on an idea and at first your mind goes wild thinking about how amazing this idea is. But then when you start telling friends about it, they pick it apart and you’re left feeling like your great idea isn’t so grand after all. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, It’s often difficult to think of ALL the different angles on an idea.
I’ll use ChatGPT to get feedback on an idea, concept or strategy. Here’s how you can do that!
ChatGPT thrives on diverse prompts, and understanding different strategies can unlock a plethora of creative possibilities. Let’s delve into specific prompts that seamlessly integrate with ChatGPT’s capabilities.
1. Storm of Ideas: Shaping the Chaos
Prompt: “Let’s brainstorm ideas for [topic] by writing down as many ideas as you can, then I can build on them with related ideas. Structure your answer using markdown.”
In the chaos of ideas, ChatGPT helps with structured brainstorming. You can initiate a storm of ideas for a chosen topic, allowing the AI to weave connections and build on them. Utilizing markdown ensures a clear and organized exploration of a multitude of ideas, making it really easy to read and follow.
With any of these prompts, you can always ask ChatGPT to elaborate or expand on a point it makes. Especially if you don’t understand something, just ask for clarity.
2. Mind Mapping: Visualizing Concepts
Prompt: “Please create a complete mind map for [topic] starting with a central concept and expanding outward with connected branches of related ideas.”
A slightly visual realm of brainstorming with mind mapping. Guided by a central concept, generates a comprehensive mind map, visually representing interconnected ideas. This approach transforms abstract thoughts into a structured visualization, providing you with a unique perspective and helps see a larger overview of the chosen topic.
3. SWOT Analysis: Evaluating Perspectives
Prompt: “Let’s do a SWOT analysis on [topic] considering internal strengths/weaknesses and external opportunities/threats. Then write a conclusion to summarize.”
Injecting a strategic approach into brainstorming, by engaging in a SWOT analysis. By evaluating internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats, you gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic. The AI’s ability to summarize the analysis enhances the strategic depth of the brainstorming process.
A SWOT analysis is a great way to not get too swept up in our ideas being “only good”. There are often many pitfalls we failed to think about, but this is exactly why this becomes so useful.
4. Analogy Thinking: Bridging Concepts
Prompt: “[Topic] is like what? Identify an analogy, then brainstorm ideas based on properties of the analogy. Explain each idea that follows from this analogy.”
Analogies breathe life into ideas and concepts. It will identify an analogy for a given topic, generates a wealth of ideas based on the properties of the analogy. This bridging concepts approach establishes a link between familiar and unfamiliar concepts, sparking innovative ideas grounded in relatable frameworks.
This is super useful when you need to think like a salesman and make an idea relatable to any given audience. One of a public speakers most useful tools is analogies.
5. Scenario Modeling: Exploring Extremes
Prompt: “Imagine a best case scenario for [topic]: everything goes right. Now imagine a worst-case scenario: everything goes wrong. Brainstorm ideas for each.”
Venture into the realms of possibility with scenario modeling. Prompted to envision both best and worst-case scenarios, provides a spectrum of ideas. This approach prepares users for a diverse range of challenges and opportunities.
Nothing is absolute in life and we need to be ok with understanding the worst case scenarios for a situation or idea. This exercise helps us keep a healthy tab on both the best & worst case scenarios. If we’re lucky, we land in the middle of the two!
So there you have it! Some of my tricks that I’ve been personally using to help me gain a better understanding of something I’m wanting to take on or even just understand better. It’s been so valuable in small business startup conceptualization. The internet likes to make it seem like everything is super easy and problem free. But being forearmed with as much knowledge as possible using a challenger for brainstorming like ChatGPT helps you be way more creative in thinking.
Let me know which of these worked well for you!
Till next time,
Seagram Pearce