“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” Edward de Bono
The other week my 6 year old’s school news assignment was to design his dream bedroom.
This ignited not only a bucket load of unexpected creativity and passion for the design process, but an enthusiasm we hadn’t seen in him for quite a while when doing his homework.
By making the effort to change the news items up a bit, it created a real buzz in the classroom and also some healthy competitiveness that evolved amongst the kids.
How much are we sticking to convention to the detriment of creativity?
How could you mix up what you normally do to spark different thoughts, ideas, approaches, expectations and outcomes?
Two areas in the workplace that can incite emotions ranging from reluctance to dread are meetings and presentations.
Next time, why not do it differently for your sake (you may enjoy it far more) and for the sake of the audience (they may enjoy it far more too!)
In your next presentation you could use rituals that get you into the best state beforehand, use stories to be memorable and humour to entertain and break barriers. Use influential language patterns and gestures that create positive messages at an unconscious level.
In your next meeting you could also use rituals to get into the best state beforehand, get everyone involved by asking them to predict what will be discussed or sum up what was covered, stand or move to keep the energy and alertness up and use reframes to help people see alternative views.
When you recognise that you’ve been following the same formula for a while, think about how you can shake it up a bit to ensure you are keeping energy, attention and enthusiasm high.