I spent time last week at the excellent MRS Creativity Lab. Here’s some tips for creativity I picked up (speakers’ details below).
Creativity Affirmations
It’s worth getting the group who are about to embark on a creative process to affirm that they are here to be creative. All about getting the mind set on creativity…
Bad and negative ideas are really useful, as are mis-heard or accidental insights
Whilst it isn’t good to be negative towards one another, negativity about ideas shouldn’t be ignored, this can be a spur to creative thinking
Think visually
Don’t just use the language part of your brain, but access the visual part too
Change perspective
Lie down, go outdoors, move around. Don’t stay in one space, a change of perspective can unlock creativity.
Write with your non dominant hand. Turns out it could be your ‘free’ hand.
Check in
Build in ‘check-ins’ to the sessions – how am I/ you feeling at this moment in time? It will allow you to be mindful of what’s going on – a kind of self-conscious re-boot
Arbitrary rules
Put constraints around the creative idea, for some reason putting yourself under greater pressure can squeeze out even juicier creative thoughts
Imitate
Imagine what your competition would do, or create in a style that’s different from you own… get away from yourself – it will help you be more creative
Always warm up
Never go into any creative situation without a warm-up…(after all that’s what actors, singers, runners do…)
Use music…
…To set the tone of your creative session
Critiquing can be creative
Look at new ideas and critique them, then listen to what you have learnt about the problems with the new idea and resolve the issue
Future fiction
Tell a story about the future of the idea, and see how it fits into the world, and if it fits into the world