The most common form of group decision making takes place in interacting groups. Members meet face-to-face and rely on both verbal and nonverbal interaction to communicate. But interacting groups often censor themselves and pressure individual members toward conformity of opinion. Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity that dampen creativity by encouraging any and all alternatives while withholding criticism.

The nominal group technique may be more effective. This technique restricts discussion and interpersonal communication during the decision-making process. Group members are all physically present, as in a traditional meeting, but they operate independently. Specifically, a problem is presented and then the group takes the following steps:

Before any discussion takes place, each member independently writes down ideas about the problem. After this silent period, each member presents one idea to the group. No discussion takes place until all ideas have been presented and recorded. The group discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them. Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas. The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits a group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking. Research generally shows nominal groups outperform brainstorming groups.