Thinking Out Loud: thinking models and idea generation
- Joy Pamnani
- Mar 29, 2017
- 3 min read
Drafting a speech often comes with brainstorming ideas and putting those ideas in the best order to suit audiences. It can be rough coming up with a creative ideas to attract crowds or brainstorming enough arguments to fill a page. This article has a few “thinking models” for you to think of creative ideas and effective arguments for your speeches and essays.
The PESTLE petal
One of the most common topics in Liberal Studies has to do with whether a policy should be implemented or not. Of course, you take a stance and add in your points to follow. But what’s a good way to make sure you’re giving the reader a comprehensive discussion of the issue?
The PESTLE Technique. P for political, E for economic, S for socio-cultural, T for technological, L for legal and E for environmental.
The PESTLE technique is an excellent way to explore factors that case a phenomenon or the impact of making a certain decision. Let’s say you’re doing an essay on whether Hong Kong should build another science park. The economic, technological and environmental petals on the PESTLE already light up, and the remaining letters give you a guiding direction to develop arguments.
The eyes of all
Looking at an issue and making a decision often involves understanding public opinion on the issues before going ahead. This is where stakeholder analysis comes into play; thinking about what stakeholders would be affected by a certain decision and how.
The next time you’re asked whether the construction of a new theme park in Hong Kong, think about what kind of people such a project would affect. The kids, the tourists, the competitors Ocean Park and Disneyland, nearby residents.
Stakeholder analysis is an arguably important tool in brainstorming arguments for essays. Putting yourself in the shoes of stakeholders often helps you understand an issue better, and can help you come up with arguments very effectively.
Six Thinking Hats
All young entrepreneurs know there are different stages in thinking and planning processes, especially when judging whether a project should be taken up. Six Thinking Hats is a useful model that helps people become aware of the stages they’re and comprehensively analyze the project.
The Six Thinking Hats Include Six Colours; Blue, White, Red, Black, Yellow and and Green. Each has its own perspective to look at the issue.
Take a look at each Hat’s function in the example of building a 3rd runway at Hong Kong's airport.
The above example certainly reflects the importance of following order in the Six Thinking Hats when you're going through the thinking process.
Social goes global
Many problems states experience aren’t just limited to a national level, but actually spread across different corners of the globe. Understanding an issue well often comes with analyzing the problem in different parts of the world. Not only is it a creativity tool, but it also helps come up with new ideas to solve the problem locally.
A good example is the idea of gender equality, where in some countries, workplace equality hits the spotlight. Others focus on education, checking on whether women have access to schooling in developing countries. The LGBT community is a subject of important discussion these days.
All these fall under the umbrella of Gender Equality, and it’s only through analyzing the issue in different parts of the world, we thoroughly look at its sub-issues and with more points to discuss while constructing solutions by learning from other countries.
Past tense, Present tense or Future tense?
Looking at an issue in the past, present and future often helps us understand the key developments, which can be very useful in coming up with points and ideas under the topic.
Say you’re talking about Hong Kong politics and democracy. A look into Hong Kong’s past inevitably helps you understand what shapes the city today, while giving you a rough idea of what the city’s future political atmosphere will be like.
Short and Long Run impacts of a project/ decision
Pretty self-explanatory. Often used when deciding whether a bill should be passed, looking at the short-term and long-term impacts of a project can help form arguments under you chosen stance.
Feasibility and Effectiveness
Finally, feasibility and effectiveness. Extremely useful tools when it comes to analyzing the pros and cons of a proposal or bill.
Feasibility refers the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done. In other words, how likely your proposal is to be a success. Points under feasibility include public support, government support and financial resources. While effectiveness measures the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result, through tackling the objectives and root cause.
Both criteria are incredibly useful tools in coming up with arguments to support a stance.
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