I do this frequently. The most useful piece of advice is simply to limit the number of people on the call and to designate one person as moderator. 5-8 participants is a reasonable number -- too many more, and you end up with people frustrated into silence when they can't get a word in edgewise.
The most valuable tools I've found have been: * Google Docs - Very easy for multiple people to create, view, and modify documents simultaneously. I particularly like the Spreadsheet application because it's so flexible. * Conceptshare.com - Slightly clunky UI for sharing and commenting on graphics as a distributed group -- but it's better than the other related sites I tried. * Instant Messenger - Handy for helping folks take minor issues "offline" and for individuals to virtually "raise their hand" to the moderator so that nobody's ideas get missed. -Sarah Kampman -----Original Message----- Anyone have good tips for running a brainstorming session over a conference call? I'm working on a project with 1/2 the team located in another state. We're at the beginning of a project and I would like to ensure good participation and idea sharing, but not having the face to face communication seems like it could be a restraint. Setting up meeting communication guidelines would help, and sharing whiteboard photos at the end of the session could ensure ideas were captured correctly (maybe I'm answering my own question here). ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
