You could even break down the wording of the brief so, for example, if it's a campaign, explain what a campaign is, what a campaign should look like, important things to consider in creating a campaign etc.
Refer them back to the research, to their Hero and to their empathy maps to better understand the problem they are developing the solution/ B!G Idea for.
Do they need to go back a stage to research again? Could you outline a step by step framework to help them understand the various steps they should take to best develop their idea?
Do you have specific resources that will help them with their research? Feel free to add hyperlinks to projects you worked on or resources that you think might be helpful for students to drive their idea forward.
What have you done in your own career that followed a similar process? Can you share some of your learnings to help them focus on their next steps?
If you think that their idea is good but doesn’t fit the brief, ask them how they could tweak or integrate their idea so that it does. Be direct in suggesting ways to expand on adapt or modify their idea (which is important to them) into an idea which responds to the problem posed.
“I like your initial idea, however there’s scope to explore….”
“Can you tell me more about…”
“I think to move this idea forward you should look back at the challenges your Hero faces…”
“Are there any other solutions which you find interesting that you have read about in your research? What can you offer that these solutions can’t?”
“Look back at your Persona map. What does this tell you about the successes and challenges your Hero faces?”
”Love how this idea is developing. You have clearly stated one of the challenges with X. Are there any others?”