How To BeMORE CREATIVE@JoeZeoliSenior Website & Graphic DesignerMiles Technologies

Who can be creative?

Creativity is not just for artists, musicians, writers, and designers. We are all creative, but the people who are known for it have spent time cultivating it, failing at it, and working

at it

CreativityThe ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns,

relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality,

progressiveness, or imaginationhttp://dictionary.reference.com/

Wait, What?

CreativityReally good associative

memory.-Joe Zeoli

“But I’m more of a left brain person”

“But I’m more of a left brain person”

WRONG

Traits that make us creativeWhy are some people more creative than others?

Why is creativity so hard?

Why is creativity so hard?

Why is creativity so hard?

Why is creativity so hard?

Why do we have these preconceptions?Do we really need them?

I don’t wanna grow up!How can we keep our child-like creativity?

● Our ideas about our surrounding become set in stone in our early adult life

● Kids are relatively unbiased; they don’t carry around many of the pre-conceptions that adults do

● They’re generally much less afraid to be embarrassed by their ideas

That A HA! Moment.Our best ideas come in, what seems like a flash of inspiration

What makes a good idea?Great ideas are built out of a collection of existing parts

Life Outside The BoxConvergent vs Divergent Thinking

Convergent Thinking1 + 1 = 2

Divergent ThinkingSpontaneous, Free-flowing, Non-linear

Can we make those connections easier?Absolutely!

Practicing Divergent ThinkingAlternative Uses

Practicing Divergent ThinkingLateral Thinking Puzzles

Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police raid a house to arrest a

suspected murderer. They don't know what he looks like but they know

his name is John and that he is inside the house. The police bust in on a

carpenter, a truck driver, a mechanic and a fireman all playing poker.

Without hesitation or communication of any kind, they immediately arrest

the fireman. How do they know they've got their man?

Practicing Divergent ThinkingRemote Associates Problems

cottage - swiss - cake

Practicing Divergent ThinkingRemote Associates Problems

opera - hand - dish

Practicing Divergent ThinkingRemote Associates Problems

health - taker - less

Cultivate Creativity

“The idea is that your creativity acts like a tortoise—poking its head out nervously to see if the environment is safe before it fully emerges. Thus, you need to create a tortoise enclosure—an oasis amongst the craziness of modern life—to be a safe haven where your creativity can emerge.”

-John Cleese

Have a ton of terrible ideas.The more ideas you can think of, the better chance you’ll have a

good one.

Have a ton of terrible ideas.The more ideas you can think of, the better chance you’ll have a

good one.

Step away and do something else.Anything else.

Listen to or watch something funny.Laughter relaxes us.

Break down the problem.Start small and work your way up.

Break down the problem.Start small and work your way up.

Give yourself restrictions.We aren’t good at making decisions.

Ernest HemingwayBet he could make an entire story in six words

For sale: baby shoes, never worn

Create a range of solutions.From a standard solution to wacky.

Don’t be afraid of a blank canvas.Just put anything down.

Don’t get discouraged“Learned Helplessness” is a real thing

Teamwork.How to bring out creativity in groups.

The Six Thinking HatsEdward de Bono

The White HatOnly The Facts

● What do you know about

● What are the facts

● What do you need or want to know

● Where would you go to find out this

information

The Red HatOur Feelings

● What are you feeling now● Which solution is best based on

your feelings

● What prejudices are present

● Do you have a gut feeling

● What does your intuition tell you

The Black HatThe Devil’s Advocate

● What should you be cautious about

● Of what should you be careful

● What are the difficulties

● Why won’t this work

● What are the risks

The Yellow HatThe Glass Half Full

● What is good about this

● What would be a positive outcome

● Can this be made to work

● What do you like about this

● What can be the value of this

The Green HatNew Ideas

● Can you create another way to do this

● How would you solve this problem

● What other possibilities are there

● What are some other approaches to this

issue?

● Can this be done in a more simple way?

The Blue HatThe Process

● Summary of everything

● What’s next

● What is the action plan

● Outcome of the meeting

● Are we asking the right questions

Thanks For Listening!