Stimulating Those Creative Juices

In his book, ’59 seconds’, Richard Wiseman shows how small cues can sometimes have a large impact upon people. He goes on to suggest that priming people can make them more creative. One possible insight application is for a brainstorming meeting. If you need people to hit the ground running in relation to their creativity, here are two quick techniques for getting them there more rapidly:

Prime them to think more creatively. For example, get everyone to write down a few thoughts about punks – their behaviour, lifestyle and appearance. A university study has shown that this boosts the participants’ ability to think creatively. Ideally, choose an unusual subject or topic that will stretch them. Don’t set the bar too high, though – those asked to think about Leonardo da Vinci soon dried up!

Put a piece of modern art in the room and ask them to look at it for two minutes. This again has been shown to inspire people to become more creative.