The 3-Step Brainstorming Process ‘The Onion’ Uses to Come Up With So Many Hilarious Ideas
The satirical newspaper has been going strong for more than 30 years using this simple brainstorming technique
By Jessica Stillman
Since its humble beginnings as a crank newspaper put out by college students in 1988, satirical news source The Onion has been cracking Americans up with headlines like “Kitten Thinks of Nothing But Murder All Day” and “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job”” (to mark the inauguration of President Obama) for more than 30 years.
How have they managed to come up with so many hilarious headlines for so many years? According to fascinating recent TED Ideas post by ex-Onion staffer Brian Janosch, the answer is a really, really good brainstorming technique — one you can totally steal.
The difference between good and bad brainstorming is huge
Before we get to Janosch’s advice, it’s worth noting just how tricky good brainstorming can be. You’d think sitting in a room and throwing out random ideas would be pretty straightforward, but science shows that traditional group brainstorming doesn’t work well. Other studies suggest that being strategic about how ideas are…
