For those individuals who are struggling with scattered thoughts and creative blocks, brainstorming tools can be of great use. When it comes to traditional brainstorming, it heavily relies on verbal and written ideas. Whereas, the modern way of visualization has come a long way and helped creators, students, researchers, and more. With such visual aids, you can better conceptualize the relationship between ideas, identify patterns, and more.

These tools play a crucial role in structuring thoughts and enhancing collaborative problem-solving. You can organize your ideas into tangible visuals and make the information easily digestible and engaging. Don't miss out on adding visual elements that stimulate creativity and refine the concepts even more. Let's learn about these various brainstorming tools and explore the best ones for real-life usage.

Reviewing Some Techniques to Apply With Brainstorming Tools

There are a bunch of techniques you can use with brainstorming tools in your daily lives that prove useful in structuring your thoughts. Some of the best techniques are given as follows:

Mind Mapping

It's a visual technique that starts off with a central idea and expands to various branches and subtopics that support your ideas. This approach helps you organize your thoughts in a nonlinear and intuitive manner. Moreover, this technique heavily mimics our natural associative thinking, making it easier for students and creative professionals to explore connections between their ideas and identify any gaps.

SCAMPER

As the name suggests, it's an acronym of various parts, each playing a different role in the same mechanic. This type of technique encourages users to rethink existing processes by applying these seven strategies with brainstorming tools. Furthermore, it benefits innovators, product designers, and marketers in various scenarios. The purpose of SCAMPER is to stimulate innovation within organizations by following a systematic approach that makes it beneficial for ideation sessions and problem-solving.

Brainwriting

Unlike traditional brainstorming, brainwriting involves silently writing down ideas before sharing them with the group. With this approach, everyone can peacefully think of unique ideas without feeling pressured. This method benefits corporate teams and research groups, where each member might write their ideas for the benefit of the company. Additionally, brainwriting ensures all voices are heard, even the introverts, leading to more diverse and well-considered ideas.

6-3-5 Method

When using brainstorming tools, the 6-3-5 is a helpful method that involves 6 participants, each writing down 3 ideas in 5-minute rounds. By the end, the group generates 108 ideas in under 30 minutes, making it highly useful. Also, this technique works well in business innovation and fashion designing, where users can generate quick ideas on the fly. Its structured nature minimizes distractions while maximizing creativity, making it ideal for time-sensitive projects.

Reverse Brainstorming

When it comes to directly seeking out solutions, try approaching them by first identifying the potential problems or the cause of failure. That's what the reverse brainstorming techniques do and helps solve business-related, educational, and other problems. Managers should be asking questions like how could we make the customer feel satisfied? With the guidance of reverse brainstorming, you can approach it from various angles, revealing overlooked issues.

8 Best Brainstorming Tools to Implement in Your Real-Life Operations

If you are looking for the best brainstorming tools that can help you in daily and real-life scenarios, read about them in the following:

1. Xmind

Pros

● Users can access your projects from any device with its cloud-based project space, as it ensures that your data is synchronized and secure.

● You can create connections between topics and add links, photos, and videos of relevant topics from various websites.

● Xmind AI allows you to keep track of changes and revisions in your mind maps. So, you can easily revert to previous versions when needed.

● On this tool, you can upload images under 10MB with 1024 pixels’ dimensions and in various formats, like JPG, PNG, and WebP.

Con

● It is only available online and doesn't have an app.

Xmind is filled with cloud-based mind mapping and brainstorming tools with seamless AI integration. It's primarily designed to promote creativity, collaboration, and AI support to users online. You can visually organize your thoughts and ideas by using its wide range of basic mind-mapping features, like branching nodes, making relationships, summarizing, and more. Moreover, it provides you with 9 structures, each with different skeleton structures, color themes, illustrations, and stickers.

Users can streamline their workflow by using the Pitch Mode and ZEN Mode, as well as get an overview of their ideas in an outline format. Furthermore, you can utilize its AI Copilot features that offer quick creation of mind maps and brainstorming hubs. It instantly generates ideas, and to-do lists on-demand and automatically, along with reorganizing, explaining, and data masking. Xmind lets you favorite different topics to make them easier to locate from the sidebar.

Pricing Plans

● Free Trial: $0

● Premium: $8.25/month

URL: https://xmind.ai/

2. Miro

Pros

● Miro marketplace houses over 160+ apps where you can integrate and centralize project management.

● It has various custom AI shortcuts that help you perform repetitive tasks with one click of a button.

● You can scan and upload documents to the tool and build interactive wireframes and prototypes.

Cons

● Miro is only available in the English language.

● You only get a single workspace with 3 editable boards in the free trial.

Miro serves as a digital whiteboard brainstorming tool that facilitates teams and individuals as a collaborative place to brainstorm. Users can create mind maps, flow charts, and other visual aids to simplify complex projects into a visual outlook. In this space, you can share ideas and add notes, shapes, text, and sticky notes. Moreover, its AI features help you generate diagrams and images from a prompt.

Pricing Plans

● Starter: $8/month

● Business: $16/month

URL: https://miro.com/index/

3. IdeaBoardz

Pros

● You can export the virtual board and its various points in a PDF and Excel file format.

● IdeaBoardz lets you create multiple virtual boards that you can keep track of on the same page.

● There are several formats you can choose from, such as retrospective, Star Fish retrospective, Todos, and more.

Cons

● It has a very outdated interface, and it makes it hard to navigate.

● There are a limited number of customization options you can do on its virtual board.

If you are looking for an online virtual board-type brainstorming tool, try IdeaBoardz, which also lets you invite other people. Here, users can create various sections, and your team can make changes to the various "stickies" you create under each section. Moreover, its voting system allows the participants to vote on the most crucial idea to set what task needs to be prioritized. You can sort each stickie by its vote numbers in different filters and view them using keyboard search.

Pricing Plans

Free

URL: https://ideaboardz.com/

4. Coggle

Pros

● You can access private diagrams for free with no file size limits.

● It has flexible, interchangeable loops and branches that you can rearrange seamlessly.

● With Coggle, you can add floating text labels and images, which you can freely annotate.

Cons

● Coggle is not sufficient to be used in presentations due to its collapsing branches and more.

● This online brainstorming tool might lag and have technical issues.

Coggle, in a way, is a creative mind-mapping platform that lets you unleash your creativity by producing notes, having conversations with others, and more. Its powerful mapping process and system algorithm provide advanced customization during map building. Additionally, the markdown formatting options include fancy text, messages, images, and links, as well as real-time collaboration. Users can access more advanced features, like control connection paths, styles, and shapes.

Pricing Plans

● Awesome: $5/month

● Organization: $8/month

URL: https://coggle.it/

5. Slack

Pros

● The automation feature provides ready-to-use workflow templates, like weekly check-ins and more.

● You can record your workflow and management meetings and share updated information with others.

● Slack is integrated with various apps, workflow builders, and Salesforce to help you manage tasks better.

Cons

● There is no free trial of the Slack AI feature for teams.

● The Huddle feature doesn’t offer advanced tools like screen recording.

Slack is a project management and brainstorming tool that is filled with several templates, collaboration options, AI, and more. You can have formal and informal conversations with your colleagues, where you can format the message and attach essential links and documents. Furthermore, there are various templates for canvases that display all the things you should cover. Plus, with Slack's AI add-on, you can quickly search, draw, and make notes.

Pricing Plans

● Pro: $4.38/month

● Business+: $15/month

URL: https://slack.com/

6. Figma

Pros

● Use Figma Slides to create presentations with Auto Layout, layers panel, and more.

● Instantly create mockups using AI, intelligent rewrite, generation, translation, and more.

● Save your time by using the batch editing option to edit multiple frames at once.

Cons

● It heavily depends on internet connectivity for usage.

● The user interface may seem complex to new users.

With brainstorming tools like Figma, you should think big, as it helps you design and create products with your team. Figma Design offers multiplayer, version-controlled design files and contextual feedback from your stakeholders. The Dev Mode simplifies code inspection and lets you compare design changes, inspect components like color and token values, and more. Another outstanding feature is FigJam, which offers an interactive collaboration space for diagramming, meetings, and planning.

Pricing Plans

● Professional: $3/month (Collab seat)

● Organization: $5/month (Collab seat)

● Enterprise: $5/month (Collab seat)

URL: https://www.figma.com/

7. Conceptboard

Pros

● The live cursor allows you to view the participant’s name during brainstorming.

● You can upload a wide range of multimedia files, like images, PDFs, videos, and more.

● Conceptboard has various sketching and scribing tools, from drawing pencils to annotating.

Cons

● Sometimes, it isn’t easy to share ideas using messages and chat tools.

● It has a limited number of formatting and stylizing options.

Another one of the best collaborative platforms is Conceptboard, which helps you conduct virtual brainstorming sessions with sticky notes, sketches, shapes, and more. You can create many brainstorming ideas in its infinite canvas, choose a template from its vast collection, and more. During a session, keep everyone informed about @mention usage and control their accessibility. In this brainstorming tool, plan, create a prototype, and connect with each other through video calls.

Pricing

● Premium: $6/month

● Business: $12/month

● Enterprise: $16/month

● Public Sector: $18/month

URL: https://conceptboard.com/

8. MindMeister

Pros

● Let others comment on your work, which you are notified of on the spot.

● You can add topics, format text, and rearrange maps using shortcut keys.

● This tool provides tenable images, emojis, markdown syntax, and other styling options.

Cons

● Users only get 3 mind maps in the free version.

● Advanced settings are only available in the business premium plan.

MindMeister has it all: visualization, collaboration, management, and sharing features. It can create unlimited subtopics with proper color coding, shapes, attachments, and more. The Focus Mode showcases some of the best ideas for your topic that you can implement into the mind map. Moreover, this brainstorming tool has expertly designed themes and a brainstorming mode where you can branch out and customize ideas. You can exchange thoughts via commenting during the session.

Pricing Plans

● Personal: $4.50/month

● Pro: $6.50/month

● Business: $10.50/month

URL: https://www.mindmeister.com/

Tabular Overview of the Best Brainstorming Tools

Having looked at the top 8 brainstorming tools, you might get a little confused being unable to decide which one to pick. Therefore, consult the following comprehensive comparison table of all the discussed tools:

Why is Xmind the Future of Brainstorming?

Xmind is redefining the future of brainstorming by seamlessly blending visual clarity, smart design, and cross-platform accessibility. Unlike traditional platforms that rely on manual input, Xmind's AI suggests branches, refines ideas and even generates mind maps from text prompts. You can use association, analogy, synthesis, and inquiry modes while brainstorming. Once that's done, use various structures, like mind maps, logic charts, fishbone diagrams, and more, to lay out the idea.

What truly sets Xmind apart is its features, like Zen Mode and Pitch Mode that allow users to brainstorm deeply. With cloud syncing, collaboration, and powerful export options, Xmind supports ideation wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. It's the next best thing as an intuitive space to think, connect, and innovate, as well as a future-proof brainstorming tool for modern brainstorming.

Best Practices for Effective Brainstorming

After learning about how Xmind is ranked as the most reliable brainstorming tool, let's learn about the most effective practices in brainstorming:

1. Set Clear Objectives

Whenever you start any brainstorming session, it's important to establish a clear objective first to know what you want to achieve. Knowing the exact problem can help you resolve it much quicker as you have a clear path in mind. Moreover, in a business setting, when the purpose is clearly defined, you and your team are more likely to stay focused and relevant to the topic.

2. Encourage Open-Mindedness

An effective brainstorming session always thrives when everyone in the room feels free to lay out their thoughts without any criticism. Therefore, encouraging open-mindedness helps embrace various ideas, as no idea is unconventional. You can utilize different brainstorming tools and make a centralized hub where your team can showcase their thoughts. It can lead to surprising insights and combinations of ideas that wouldn't have emerged otherwise.

3. Keep the Focus on Quantity

In the early stages of brainstorming, your main goal should be quantity; make as many ideas as possible, which you can narrow down afterward. This type of approach helps break down complex blocks and pushes participants to think beyond obvious suggestions. With a large quantity of information, it fosters creativity and increases the odds of discovering something innovative. It's all about getting ideas out quickly and without overthinking.

4. Use Time Limits

Using brainstorming tools can help you at different times and focus on creating a dynamic brainstorming session. Moreover, when people know they only have a short window, they're able to produce points as it encourages quick thinking. Having time constraints creates a sense of urgency and energizes the other individual toward creativity. You can use structured segments to manage your session effectively and to ensure that there's enough time for discussion.

5. Follow-up Actions

What’s the point in creating a brainstorming session if you’re not going to follow it or execute it? Users can use Xmind, a brainstorming tool, to create a place where they can generate ideas, rearrange thoughts, and collaborate with others. It can also include selecting the most promising ones and assigning action steps to implement them. Furthermore, by taking deliberate next steps, your team can turn creativity into results.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article sheds light on the matter of brainstorming tools and how they can significantly impact the ideation process. Users can find the best 8 tools that provide them with multiple brainstorming-related features, like subtopics, markers, and structured formats. Among them all, it is recommended to utilize Xmind to create a seamless brainstorming session for you and your team.

Frequently Ask Questions

1. Why should I use a brainstorming tool?

Many brainstorming tools allow real-time collaboration with others, whether you work from home or remotely. These tools help users categorize and sort ideas in a structural manner, thus making them easier to evaluate.

2. What is the difference between brainstorming tools and project management tools?

Project management tools focus on tracking and execution of tasks, which includes ideas generated during brainstorming sessions. Brainstorming tools are the idea-generation phase that encourages creativity and problem-solving.

3. What are the most effective brainstorming tools for teams?

Xmind is the most recommended tool for teams as it offers sharing, real-time editing, commenting, and various features for teams and corporate companies.

4. Can AI be integrated into brainstorming tools?

Yes, you can find multiple tools online with AI integration, such as Xmind, Miro, Conceptboard, Figma, and more.