NEWBIE

ComplEtE your profIlE

fIrSt poSt

makE your fIrSt CommENt

the first step to being a great collaborator is showing

that you’re ready and willing to do business.

make your profile more personal by adding a photo and

complete your skills and interests. then people can target you

with the relevant content or brainstorm invitation.

If you’ve logged in with linkedin, or our company email, your

interests and skills will be added automatically.

Great job! you’re now ready to start on opal.

NExt: makE your fIrSt CommENt

Every journey starts with a single step.

opal has many powerful features to hep your daily work and

you might have to explore a bit to figure out how to make them

work for you. Here’s a good place to start:

Click into Brainstorms or the Hub. take a look at other people’s

posts and leave a comment. you can do that by clicking on

‘comment’ at the bottom of a post or ideas card. keep it positive

but don’t worry if it’s not earth-shattering. It’s early days

Just say, “I’m exploring” if you’re stuck for

something to say.

NExt: SuBmIt aN IdEa, HoWEvEr SIlly.

Go

SuBmIt aN IdEa, HoWEvEr SIlly.

CHEErlEadEr

lIkE SomEoNE ElSE’S IdEa

Submitting your first idea is always going to feel a little awkward

but the best way to break the ice is to dip your toe in the water.

and opal Brainstorms should be fun. So relax and post the

daftest idea you can think of. the important thing is learning

how it’s done. you can always delete it later.

Click to enter your first idea.

NExt: lIkE SomEoNE ElSE’S IdEa

When you’ve summoned up the courage to post an idea, the

worst thing you can get back is silence. at this very moment,

one of your colleagues is probably wondering if anybody out

there actually likes their post.

Showing your appreciation, or what the psychologists call

‘affirming’, really helps to encourage collaboration.

So find a post and ‘like’ it. you can also say why. from now on,

try and like another one every day - this will encourage your

team to submit more interesting and engaging content.

NExt: BuIld oN SomEoNE ElSE’S IdEa

BuIldEr

BuIld oN SomEoNE ElSE’S IdEa

INvItatIoN

INvItE your frIENdS to GIvE you a HaNd.

Collaboration really works when people interact with each

other’s ideas and build on them. It’s an essential skill and it

takes some practice to get perfect. the first step is to resist

closing down someone else’s idea. Get into the habit of saying

‘yes ... and’ rather than ‘no’.

find an idea that you think you can expand on and click on the

bricks icon to start building.

Here’s an example (xxxx) ??

IdEa: What if we had Secret Santa for our Holiday party?

BuIld: love it. What about making it a treasure hunt as well?

NExt: INvItE your frIENdS to GIvE you a HaNd.

the more people you can get to collaborate, the more ideas

you’re going to generate. and the easiest way to get someone

involved is the ‘@ mention’ . (Geeks call this an ‘at mention’)

try it out, it’s one of the most useful tools on opalIn the

comments box under a post or ideas card, type an @symbol

and start typing the name of the person you want to invite.

When you see their name pop-up, click on it and hit enter.

they’ll be notified that there’s something you’d like them to

look at.

opal also allows you to @mention groups and skills* so you can

notify teams that there is something interesting to see.

NExt: CrEatE a Buzz arouNd tHE plaCE

*tHESE WIll BE uNIquE to your orGaNIzatIoN.

CrEatE Buzz

CrEatE a Buzz arouNd tHE plaCE

GuESS WHo

makE SurE you kEEp IN touCH

opal lets you get teams working together, wherever they are

in the world But making the links between the opportunity and

those with the skills and knowledge to make the most of it, is

still a job for people like you.

Click on the ‘Invite people to join in’ button to invite someone to

a particular brainstorm, or use the ‘share’ function on a post. try

inviting someone who would really move the ideas along,

then type in their name to make sure they get the message.

NExt: makE SurE you kEEp IN touCH.

If you want to hear when someone comments on one of your

posts or ideas, or just know what’s going on, you’ll need to

make sure that you’ve set the right notification preferences.

you can change them by clicking on ‘notification preference’ in

your profile box.

Click here to change your notification preferences

NExt: BE a lIttlE provoCatIvE

provoCatuEr

BE a lIttlE provoCatIvE

faSt EmaIl rEply

GEt aHEad of tHE GamE

a good dinner party host (or guest) is one who stimulates the

flow of conversation.

the same applies with a Brainstorm. So try taking an interesting

angle on a question and post something that gets people

thinking.

Start by asking ‘What if ...?’ and then use ‘@mention’ to invite

some of your closest colleagues to respond.

NExt: GEt aHEad of tHE GamE

If you’re invited to comment on a post or a brainstorm idea, you

don’t even need to log in to opal to start helping out. you can

jump right in by replying directly from your email inbox.

NExt: uSE tHE poWEr of ImaGES

pHoto-JourNalISt

uSE tHE poWEr of ImaGES

taG BadGE

makE a HaSHtaG

If you want to engage and involve people, try to keep your opal

as visual as possible. It’s more fun for them and will help your

posts stand out from the crowd.

you can upload an image wherever you see this symbol [xx].

It’s best to make your own but if you don’t have any, use the

magic image finder. Just type in a couple of key words to find

something relevant.

NExt: makE a HaSHtaG

???????

NExt: GIvE your poSt or IdEa Extra StICkING poWEr

StICky IdEa

GIvE your poSt or IdEa Extra StICkING poWEr

top pErformEr

BEComE a top pErformEr

add relevant and stimulating extra content to your contributions

is going to make them more interesting to others.

try attaching a file such as a word document, pdf or jpeg

or add a link. you can do it when you submit an idea on

Brainstorms or post on the Hub.

NExt: BEComE a top pErformEr

once you’ve made five posts or contributed five ideas on

Brainstorms, you’ve made it into the top league.

Well done. from now on, the possibilities are endless.

NExt: prEparE to CrEatE your fIrSt BraINStorm

SHuttErBuG

upload a pICturE from your pHoNE

BESt SEllEr

prEparE to CrEatE your fIrSt BraINStorm

?????? there’s an art to creating a successful Brainstorm but help is at

hand. underneath the Create a Brainstorm button, you’ll find a

link to tips and tricks that will help you get it right, first time.

NExt: CrEatE your fIrSt BraINStorm

HEro

CrEatE your fIrSt BraINStorm

Early BIrd

SEt a BraINStorm dEadlINE

Click on the Create a Brainstorm, write a title and a description

and post some questions to get people engaged.

NExt: SEt a BraINStorm dEadlINE

one of the great things about opal Brainstorms is that they’re

not all over in an hour or two. people get the chance to have

second thoughts or sleep on ideas. at the same time, a sense

of urgency helps to focus the mind.

you’ll get the option to set a deadline when you create your

Brainstorm.

NExt: INvItE aN opINIoN from aN ExpErt

BroadCaStEr

INvItE aN opINIoN from aN ExpErt

EdIt WrENCH

HavE SECoNd tHouGHtS

know someone who could offer some valuable, expert insight

for your Brainstorm? Go to the ‘invite’ button to ask for their

opinion.

NExt: HavE SECoNd tHouGHtS

If your Brainstorm isn’t getting the responses you were hoping

for, don’t despair. you can get in and edit it any time. try making

the title a little more engaging, sharpen the description or make

your starter questions a bit more stimulating.

NExt: CrEatE a CHaIN of BraINStormS.

HIGH flIEr

CrEatE a CHaIN of BraINStormS.

CHallENGEr

CrEatE a prIvatE BraINStorm.

one great Brainstorm leads to another. When things go well,

there will always be ideas that suggest new directions and new

thinking beyond the original brief. don’t waste them. use them

to create a whole new Brainstorm. once you’ve created three

linked Brainstorms, you can call yourself a high flyer.

NExt: CrEatE a prIvatE BraINStorm.

By default, Brainstorms are open to your whole opal

community. there will be times, however, when you will only

want certain people involved.

When you create your Brainstorm, choose ‘make this

Brainstorm private’ and type in the names of the people you

wish to invite. No-one else will then be able to access it.

NExt: INvItE or SHarE morE pEoplE from arouNd your orGaNIzatIoN

CatalySt

INvItE or SHarE morE pEoplE from arouNd your orGaNIzatIoN

HIGH fIvE

traNSfEr oWNErSHIp

??? ????

Smart CookIE

put It all toGEtHEr

EINStEIN

arraNGE tHE IdEaS INto tHEmES.

Synthesis is what we call the process of making sense of the

ideas from your Brainstorm.

the first step is to simply drag idea cards into the yellow

synthesis box on the right hand side of your Brainstorm.

NExt: arraNGE tHE IdEaS INto tHEmES.

When you run a Brainstorm, you’ll find that responses tend to

group themselves into certain themes.

to organise them by theme, just drag the ideas cards into the

yellow synthesis box, add a relevant theme title and then pull in

any other linked cards.

the process is really flexible and you can re-organise your

themes at any point.

NExt: output BraINStormS CardS

BluEprINt

output BraINStorm CardS

INvENtor

uSE a tHEmE to CrEatE a NEW BraINStorm

once your Brainstorm is over, you can export themes as pdfs.

and print them out as Brainstorm cards. they make great talking

points in real-world meetings.

NExt: uSE a tHEmE to CrEatE a NEW BraINStorm

?????

NExt: maNaGE a BraINStorm for SomEoNE ElSE

amBaSSador

maNaGE a BraINStorm for SomEoNE ElSE

vISIoNary

ENd a BraINStorm

??????

NExt: ENd a BraINStorm

you can either let your Brainstorm run until its deadline or close

it down at any point. Just click on admIN or the cog icon and

select ‘End Brainstorm’.

as a matter of Brainstorm etiquette, make sure that you thank

everyone who has contributed an idea or left a comment. It

makes people feel appreciated.

NExt: Start a BraINStorm WItH partICIpaNtS from aNotHEr orGaNIzatIoN

ENtrEprENEur

Start a BraINStorm WItH partICIpaNtS from aNotHEr orGaNIzatIoN

100 CluB

JoIN tHE 100 CluB

one great thing about Brainstorms is its ability to involve people

from outside your organization. that’s really helpful when

there’s a common challenge that’s better addressed by two or

more companies working together.

you can invite outside participants in the same way that you

invite colleagues. Just remember, they will have to sign on to

opal and be approved by your admin.

NExt: JoIN tHE 100 CuB

once you’ve posted 100 post on the Hub or uploaded 100

ideas on Brainstorms, you can consider yourself a member of

the elite opal 100 Club.

NExt: Start a CoNvErSatIoN

CHattEr

Start a CoNvErSatIoN

EmBraCE tHE tECH

BEComE aN admINIStrator

there are no file size restrictions on opal

Invite someone to a message

NExt: BEComE aN admINIStrator

once you’ve posted 100 post on the Hub or uploaded 100

ideas on Brainstorms, you can consider yourself a member of

the elite opal 100 Club.

NExt: Start a CoNvErSatIoN