Whiteboards are very useful in a variety of ways: for example, they can be used to record ideas during a brainstorming session, team members can more easily pick up and develop ideas from others, and they also provide an easily accessible place to sift through all ideas and work with them afterwards can. Whiteboards come in a wide variety of variations: From the “physically existing” board that you can write on and wipe off again, to digital tools such as draw.io, which offer various advantages, especially for the modern workplace in 2023.
Whiteboards – the perfect tool for brainstorming
You remember: At draw.io we are in fantasy fever right now. So today we took a look at what is perhaps one of the most famous brainstorming events in fantasy history: the one that took place in an idyllic spot called Rivendell. We are of course talking about Elrond’s advice. the Council of Elrond. If you know – which we assume – “The Lord of the Rings” you know, of course, that this is one of the key passages in the 1st book: Dwarves, Elves, Men and Hobbits, inhabitants of Middle-earth, come together to discuss together, what steps can be taken to stop Sauron. In effect, it’s a discussion about what to do with the one ring.
Would working together on a digital whiteboard perhaps have prevented the companions from being dispersed not long after? And what tools can you use to stay on track unless you happen to have a 6000 year old Elf facilitating the meeting right now? We’ll tell you!
Why you should use a digital whiteboard for your next meeting
Blackboards have been used to generate ideas for ages. But “the world is changing”, and the time of digital boards aka whiteboards has come. No wonder: they’re quick to use, easy to share, enable remote collaboration, and easier to revise than the old-fashioned blackboards. And unlike these, there’s no space limit either, so you can jot down as many ideas as you like.
Another plus: You no longer need sticky notes and special pens – instead you can work using shapes, anchor points and arrows, which make it possible to quickly move ideas around and even link them to other content.
One of the basic rules for effective brainstorming is: No evaluation! Everyone is free to express their ideas without worrying if they are right or wrong. Just as wizards, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and humans all brought different perspectives and knowledge to the Council in Rivendell, you should create an environment where ideas just thrive!
With digital whiteboards, teams from different time zones can participate, and thanks to the “Live Collaboration” function in draw.io several people can add or modify ideas at the same time. Who knows what additional insights would have inspired the Council if Radagast the Brown could have had a say from afar?
Another advantage of a digital whiteboard compared to a physical board is that it’s easier to keep your brainstorming session as the central “source of truth.” Boards on which you have drawn with a pen will sooner or later be erased, with which all your ideas will disappear from the material world. Even a photo still needs to be stored online somewhere. It would have been to Boromir’s advantage if the memory of why the ring was not sent to Gondor had been more vivid. And perhaps Frodo would have had an easier time bringing Faramir on board if he could have shared everything discussed in Council of Elrond (including Gandalf’s comments) himself.
Last but not least, thanks to digital whiteboards, it is also easier to build on ideas if a follow-up meeting is required – after all, the result can be called up again immediately. And it can just as easily be cleaned up for a presentation.
Tips and techniques for digital whiteboarding
- Set a clear goal for your meeting: Whether you’re researching possible features for a new product or finding an answer to the Mordor threat, you should have a clear question that needs answering or a problem that needs a solution.
- Bring structure to the brainstorming: While a brainstorm should be open to creative ideas, some structure can still come in handy – just so you’re clear about what types of ideas are needed. An advantage of a digital whiteboarding tool like draw.io is that you can use templates or create your own, including flowcharts, SWOT diagrams, brainwriting boards and more.
- Link your board to other content: The Council of Elrond had to rely on reports from across Middle-earth to make their decision. You may want or need to connect your brainstorming results to other sources of knowledge as well. draw.io allows you to insert links to other Confluence pages into your whiteboard.
The Council of Elrond – reloaded (with draw.io)
In the film adaptation “The Fellowship of the Ring” you as a spectator see how the power of the ring corrupts the hearts of those present during the deliberations in Rivendell, so that the meeting degenerates into arguments. A digital discussion, with all parties safely seated in their kingdoms WITHOUT having to embark on a perilous journey first, would have had fewer arguments, but would have allowed for contributions and perspectives from significantly more people and a freer discussion, prior to the negative impact of the Ring would have been protected.
And while the advice never gets quite so heated in the novel, perhaps an introverted elf would have felt comfortable enough in a digital whiteboarding session to pitch the idea of flying to Mordor on the back of an eagle. Of course, the idea would have been scrapped anyway, but at least it would have been discussed and the question you might have been asking yourself would have been settled once and for all.
So the next time you have to decide the fate of the free peoples of Middle-earth or just want to figure out what topics your next corporate event should cover, you should use a digital whiteboard tool like draw.io – which you can easily use, by the way Download from the Atlassian Marketplace can.
Would you like to delve deeper into the world of draw.io? Then please follow us Social Media – here you can also find out how others use draw.io and pick up a tip or two for your use case. Or you visit our YouTube channel – we have also provided many tutorials for you there.
And now: Happy diagramming!
Further information
Successfully raise collaboration to a new level with draw.io or: How to use the whiteboard optimally
It couldn’t be easier: create Gitflow diagrams with the whiteboard editor from draw.io
More than just a diagramming tool: draw.io goes whiteboard
An unexpected journey – the draw.io adventure begins! (Adventures in Diagramming, Part 1)
An unexpected journey – the draw.io adventure continues! (Adventures in Diagramming, Part 2)