Key takeaways
- Brainstorming questions are open-ended prompts that help you approach topics from new perspectives and generate fresh ideas.
- Asking the right questions encourages curiosity and creative thinking, especially during early brainstorming or prewriting.
- These questions work for students, professionals, and creatives seeking clarity, focus, and innovation.
- You can combine brainstorming questions with other methods like mind mapping, listing, and freewriting for deeper exploration.
Every great idea starts with a great question. That’s because questions spark the thought process that leads to ideas. As a writer, asking questions is one of the most effective ways to get into your readers’ heads and understand what they hope to get out of your writing. This is true whether you’re writing a paper, developing a campaign, or solving a design challenge. In all of these scenarios, asking the right questions can unlock insights that facts alone can’t.
Brainstorming questions push you to think about your subject in new ways. Instead of assuming answers, they invite exploration and curiosity. They’re an essential part of the brainstorming process and can be paired with other creative techniques to turn confusion into clarity and hesitation into action.
In this guide, we’ll cover brainstorming questions by explaining how they boost creativity and how to use them effectively. Read on to understand them better, with 100 categorized examples you can use right away.
Table of contents
- What are brainstorming questions?
- 100 sample brainstorming questions
- How brainstorming questions boost creativity
- How to use brainstorming questions with other methods
- Best practices for brainstorming questions
- How Grammarly can help with brainstorming questions
- Brainstorming questions FAQs
What are brainstorming questions?
Brainstorming questions are prompts that help you explore ideas, uncover connections between them, expand on existing solutions, and approach a topic from multiple angles. They open up possibilities by inviting creativity and critical thinking into your brainstorming process.
They’re especially useful early in the prewriting process, before you start outlining or drafting. Brainstorming questions can do a lot, like help you clarify your goals, define your audience more sharply, and drive you to think more deeply and differently about your topic.
For writers, teams, and students alike, asking better questions leads to better ideas. Here’s how brainstorming questions can play in different scenarios:
- Students can use them to shape research questions or essay arguments.
- Professionals can use them to identify customer needs or project goals.
- Creatives can use them to explore storylines, designs, or artistic themes.
Knowing how to brainstorm is one thing; knowing which questions to ask makes the process even more effective.
100 sample brainstorming questions
Take a look through these 20 categories of brainstorming questions. Each is designed to challenge your assumptions and guide your next ideation session.
Problem-clarifying questions
Use these when you’re unsure about the challenge you’re addressing:
- What’s the main problem we’re trying to solve?
- Why does this problem matter right now?
- Who is most affected by it?
- What would success look like?
- What happens if we ignore it?
Goal-setting questions
These are great when you need focus or direction:
- What do we want to achieve?
- How will we measure success?
- What are our short- and long-term goals?
- Who benefits most from this outcome?
- What’s the first milestone to reach?
Audience-focused questions
Asking questions about your audience can help you make smarter writing, marketing, or design choices.
- Who am I trying to reach or convince?
- What do they already know about this topic?
- What tone or message will resonate most?
- What needs or challenges do they have?
- How can I make this valuable for them?
Creative “what if?” questions
Thinking creatively is key to generating bold, unexpected ideas. Here are some examples of creative questions:
- What if we did the opposite of what’s expected?
- What if we had only one hour to solve this?
- What if time or budget weren’t limits?
- What if two unrelated ideas were combined?
- What if the audience helped shape the solution?
Introspective questions
Use these when you’re stuck or need to do further reflection:
- What excites me most about this idea?
- What’s holding me back from starting?
- What assumptions might I be wrong about?
- What do I hope to learn in this process?
- How does this connect to my values?
Retrospective questions
Retrospective questions are great for reviewing past projects and learning from them. Here are a few examples:
- What worked well last time?
- What didn’t work as planned?
- What feedback still applies?
- What would I do differently now?
- What surprised me in the process?
Observational questions
Gather inspiration by studying examples and trends. Do this by asking questions like:
- What patterns are emerging in this space?
- What are others doing that we could improve on?
- What details could make a big difference?
- What gaps exist in current solutions?
- What lessons can we borrow from other fields?
Information-gathering questions
Useful early in research or planning, info-gathering questions often sound like:
- What do we already know about this?
- What information are we missing?
- Who can help us learn more?
- What evidence supports this idea?
- Where can we find credible examples?
Lateral thinking questions
Challenge convention and explore thinking from new perspectives with questions like:
- How would someone from another field approach this?
- What would a beginner do differently?
- What metaphor captures this challenge?
- How could we flip this problem upside-down?
- What unrelated idea might solve this?
Collaboration questions
Encourage equal contribution in group settings through questions like:
- What idea excites the group most?
- How can we build on one another’s thoughts?
- What’s one perspective we haven’t heard yet?
- How can we ensure every voice is included?
- How can we combine our strengths?
Decision-making questions
Questions like these are useful for narrowing down and prioritizing ideas:
- Which idea best fits our goals?
- What’s most practical to implement?
- What risks or tradeoffs exist?
- Which option can we test first?
- How will we decide what to pursue?
Problem-solving questions
For moving from ideas to action, ask questions along these lines:
- What’s blocking progress?
- What resources could fix this?
- What’s the simplest path forward?
- What’s a creative workaround?
- How can we test solutions quickly?
Refining and improvement questions
When you’re editing, questions like these can guide your thinking:
- What can we simplify or remove?
- How can we make this clearer?
- How does this compare to other strong ideas?
- What would make this more engaging?
- What could we add to make it stronger?
Reflection questions
Encourage self-awareness and learning through reflective questions like:
- What did I learn through this project?
- How has my thinking evolved?
- What would I change next time?
- What moments felt most productive?
- What will I carry into my next project?
Motivation questions
Reignite focus or energy mid-project by asking:
- Why does this matter to me?
- What keeps me motivated?
- How can I make this process enjoyable?
- What impact could this idea have if successful?
- Who will benefit from this work?
Prioritization questions
As you write and edit, knowing what to prioritize is key to working efficiently. Questions like these can help you prioritize:
- What deserves attention first?
- Which task has the biggest impact?
- What can wait until later?
- What depends on something else being done first?
- What happens if we skip this?
Feasibility questions
Test your ideas before committing with feasibility questions. Here are some examples:
- Do we have enough time and resources?
- What obstacles could stop us?
- What partnerships could help?
- What’s our timeline?
- Is this sustainable long-term?
Innovation questions
Encourage forward-thinking ideas by asking questions that spark fresh ideas, like:
- What has never been tried before?
- How can we reinvent this process?
- What trend could we lead instead of follow?
- What rules could we rewrite?
- What future challenge could this solve?
Academic and learning questions
Questions that are great for research and essay planning tend to ground your thought process. Here are a few examples:
- What evidence best supports my thesis?
- What counterarguments should I address?
- How does this relate to current events?
- What do I want readers to understand most?
- What sources will strengthen my credibility?
Personal growth questions
Reflective questions like these are ideal for journaling, reflection, or self-improvement:
- What did I learn about myself?
- What challenged me most?
- How has my confidence changed?
- What skills should I develop next?
- What lesson will I carry forward?
How brainstorming questions boost creativity
Brainstorming questions are powerful because they encourage divergent thinking and unlock new ways of seeing problems. They’re especially effective when paired with thinking outside the box during ideation.
Specifically, brainstorming questions help you by:
- Shifting your perspective by challenging assumptions and revealing hidden patterns
- Encouraging curiosity, which keeps the creative process moving
- Inviting collaboration by prompting open discussion in team brainstorming sessions
- Reducing perfectionism by focusing on possibilities rather than final answers
How to use brainstorming questions with other methods
Brainstorming questions become even more effective when combined with other brainstorming methods. Here are a few ways you can enhance your next brainstorming session by combining strategies:
1. Combine with mind mapping
Use your answers as central nodes in a mind map. This helps connect related ideas visually.
2. Pair with listing brainstorming
Turn your responses into lists of themes, examples, or next steps using listing brainstorming.
3. Use with freewriting
After answering a few questions, set a timer and try freewriting. Writing freely on your best ideas deepens understanding and sparks new insights.
4. Integrate into round robin brainstorming
In team settings, assign one brainstorming question to each person and have others build on those answers. This is a great way to merge perspectives. Learn more about round robin brainstorming.
5. Apply to starbursting
Starbursting uses the “who, what, where, when, why, and how” framework. Combine those prompts with your own brainstorming questions to fully explore your ideas.
By pairing these techniques, you can move from open-ended exploration to structured, actionable ideas.
Best practices for brainstorming questions
When determining which questions you’ll explore during your next brainstorming session, follow these best practices:
- Start broad, then narrow your focus as patterns emerge.
- Capture every answer before judging or editing them.
- Mix different question types to cover creative, analytical, and reflective thinking.
- Collaborate with others to expand perspectives.
- Revisit your answers later. This is because new connections often appear when you view your work with fresh eyes.
How Grammarly can help with brainstorming questions
Brainstorming questions help you explore ideas. Grammarly helps you refine them. Here are a few ways Grammarly can be an effective co-brainstormer:
- Use Grammarly’s AI writing tools to generate prompts or expand your question list.
- Try brainstorming with AI to turn your answers into fleshed-out ideas.
- Use Grammarly’s free AI outline generator to organize your strongest ideas into a clear plan or draft.
- After brainstorming, use Expert Review to get feedback inspired by real experts.
- Test how your ideas might resonate with different audiences using Reader Reactions.
Grammarly supports your entire writing process, from the spark of curiosity to the polished draft.
Brainstorming questions FAQs
What’s the purpose of brainstorming questions?
They help you think creatively by prompting exploration instead of simply delivering quick answers. Asking better questions leads to more original and well-rounded ideas.
What makes a good brainstorming question?
A question that’s open-ended, focused, and curiosity-driven is a good brainstorming question. A strong question encourages multiple viewpoints and inspires follow-up ideas.
How do I get the most out of brainstorming questions?
Answer freely, revisit your responses later, and mix question types to cover all angles. The more perspectives you explore, the more valuable your results will be.
How can brainstorming questions improve collaboration?
They provide a common starting point for everyone and spark discussion. Once discussions have begun, brainstorming questions help teams build on one another’s ideas.
Can AI tools help generate brainstorming questions?
Yes. Grammarly’s AI brainstorming generator can suggest, expand, or reframe prompts to help you think more creatively and efficiently.
