An easy and simple way to practice creativity is to do some fun group exercises where joking, laughter and free flowing spirits are the order of the day. The exercises we have suggested will stretch the team’s imagination and literally help the team leap into creative thinking mode whenever real problems need to be tackled and solved.
By doing exercises that challenge your team’s creative abilities, they are also practicing collaboration. Make sure everyone is relaxed before you get started. You may want to check the ambience of their environment — taking the team out of their usual meeting setting can make a huge difference.
Remember, these exercises are meant to be silly and light but they do spark people’s imaginations. Try them the next time the team gets together. Don’t forget the trick is to let it flow and acknowledge when people are really stepping out on a limb with their ideas.
Exercise 1
Take a piece of paper, and in one minute, list as many uses for a paperclip you can think of.
- Write down every idea — don’t judge or criticise
- Go for quantity, not quality of ideas
- Be relaxed, playful, perhaps even silly
- Switch your perspective; look at it from a different point of view (how would a child see this?)
- Ask the “what if?” questions; what if it were straightened out” what if it was bigger (thicker, heavier, stronger)?” etc.
Exercise 2
Come up with 100 low or no-cost ways to improve customer satisfaction or product quality without needing to ask management’s permission.
Exercise 3
Ask the team to brainstorm the ‘real’ story behind the Mona Lisa’s smile in the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Brainstorm all possible explanations you can think of and give a reward to the most plausible yet outrageous story.
There are hundreds of creative thinking techniques and tools available on the market to develop creative thinking and problem solving abilities. Many of which are widely known and used, such as:
- Six Thinking Hats
- Lateral Thinking
- Brainstorming
- Brainwriting
- Mindmapping
- Storyboarding
- IdeaToons
But unlike many things there is not a ‘one size fits all’ tool for all aspects of the creative thinking process. There are different tools for different parts of the creative process. They are all very useful, but to get the best results select the right creativity technique for your needs. For instance, defining a problem, generating alternatives, evaluating and implementing ideas will all use different techniques and tools.
‘A Guide on Creating Ideas for Your Business and Deciding the Best Ones’ has lots of suggestions that can be used by teams. It’s easy to understand and simple style means you can get started almost immediately. At $US27 your business can’t afford to be without it. And don’t forget to take advantage of our bonus offer of hints and tips in facilitating meetings and workshops. This means a savings of over 30%!
Click on the book link to find out more and buy now. It’s an immediate download so there’s no waiting for the post!
{ 1 trackback }