brainstorming

Want to Be More Creative? Be More Obvious

By on January 8, 2010 in Learn with Humor

What’s the first thing people say when it’s time to be creative? “Let’s think outside the box.”  But for those of you who have sat through countless brainstorming sessions, you know that doesn’t always work.  In fact, in many cases, it leads you further away from solving the problem.

photo by gastonmag

What should you do instead? Follow the advice Patricia Ryan Madsen gives in Improv Wisdom: “Try thinking inside the box [just] look more carefully.”

What does that really mean? Be more obvious.

The Problem with Outside the Box Thinking

Thinking outside the box has it’s value–when a problem has never come up before or something 100% original is required.  But for the other 90% of the time, you don’t need the most “original” solution, you need the right one.  And so often the right one is sitting right in front of you, you just can’t see it because you’re too busy looking for a box to think outside of.

Creativity through the Obvious

Instead, start with what is most obvious to you, because that is most likely not what’s most obvious to the other people sitting around the room.  We all heard growing up that “Everyone is special.”  And as hokie as that may sound, it’s true.  No other person on this planet has had the same life as you–they didn’t have the same parents, the same childhood, or the same schooling (unless you have a twin that you did everything with, in which case you’d probably be awesome on $10,000 Pyramid).

But that experience gives you a certain level of uniqueness, and that uniqueness alone provides you with the skills to “think differently.”  If you pay attention to your thoughts and trust your instincts, your ideas will be different and creative to other people, even if they seem obvious to you.

See Obvious in Action

Still clinging to your box so you can look outside of it?  Go to a comedy club and watch some stand-up comedy. Comedians are in the business of pointing out the “obvious,” but they do it in a way that is unique to their perspective, from their experiences, and that makes us laugh.   We all know that going to the dentist can be unpleasant, but to hear Bill Cosby tell us about his experience is unique, creative, and uproariously funny.

So the next time you need some “creative problem solving” try being a little more obvious and see if you don’t find the solution right in front of you, nicely wrapped up with a bow, sitting in a box.

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Selecting a Metaphor for Better Presentations

By on June 29, 2009 in How-To Humor
photo by scol22

photo by scol22

Last week I talked about the simple presentation tip of using metaphors to improve understanding and retention of your material.  But how do you find a good metaphor?

What Makes a Good Metaphor

Not all metaphors are created equal.  Some can help you explain every detail of your presentation topic, while others barely provide any benefit.

What makes for a good metaphor?  While there is no exact science, there are some guidelines:

  1. It Should Simplify – The metaphor should actually simplify your topic, not make it more cumbersome to understand.
  2. Your Audience Should Get It – An amazing metaphor relating a new reporting system to thermodynamics isn’t helpful if your audience doesn’t understand thermodynamics.  That’s not say your metaphor has to speak for itself–you can explain what it is you are relating to, but the audience should be able to get it with only a brief explanation.
  3. It Should Be Extendable - The best metaphors are those that you can extend throughout your presentation, simplifying each individual component and then bringing it together all at the end.

How to Select a Metaphor

The biggest barrier to using metaphors in a presentation is actually finding one that will work for your topic.  We don’t have all day to think of different metaphors and apply them to our work; we do have to actually get the work done.  But taking time now to ensure your audience understands what you’re saying will save you a lot of time, and trouble, in the future.

Generating ideas isn’t that difficult.  The first step to finding an appropriate metaphor is limiting your brainstorming–there are only so many references that can adequately describe a new reporting system.

Some helpful hints in brainstorming metaphors:

  1. Think of Things Everyone Knows - The best metaphors are those that require little explanation.  Relating to things people already know well makes your job easier.  Some common concepts most people already understand include cars (dashboard, engines, overall design), cities, computers, technology, pop-culture, and sports.
  2. Think About What You Are Presenting – Oversimplify what it is you are presenting or proposing and get down to it’s most basic level–is it a change in process, a revolutionary product, a way to simplify?  Then think of something that at it’s root level is the same.  Compare the change from one system to another to the transition of newspapers to online news sites.  Compare the new product to the iPod.  Compare the simplification to a car dashboard.
  3. Think About What You Know – A metaphor that requires hours of research to pull off correctly can be too time-consuming to actually use.  Think of the things you know well, or are passionate about.  I often use stand-up and improv comedy concepts as metaphors because I love comedy, it’s interesting for the audience, and I know it.

Once you have a narrowed list of possibilities, you can just apply the guidelines for a good metaphor and choose one.  You don’t have to find the perfect metaphor, just one that highlights your key points.

And not every aspect of the metaphor need apply–many people reference pyramids as an example of how a strong base is important to the overall structure, but few mention that the pyramids of Egypt were made by slaves. It doesn’t mean the pyramid isn’t analogous, just that it isn’t a perfect metaphor.

Applying Your Metaphor

After you’ve decided on the metaphor, applying it to your topic is the easiest part.  You can do this by examining each of the high-level items of your proposal (title slides, paragraph headings, etc) and mapping it to your metaphor.

From there, you’ll find you can express your metaphor in natural ways in your presentation or writing.  The end result?  A better presentation that is engaging and improves retention and understanding.

How do you pick the metaphors you use in your presentations? Share some ideas in the comments.

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Acting Out: Improv Exercises Cultivate Team Building

By on June 18, 2009 in Humor Benefits

Improv exercises can cultivate team building, customer service skills, brainstorming, and more according to an article I recently read from HRMagazine.  The article, which shared business cases from various corporations, covered some of the basic ways improv can benefit the workplace.  Some highlights include:

  • “Many theater professionals have realized that the very rules improv is founded on…are critical skills in business too.”
  • “In today’s fast-paced business climate, success follows organizations that can cope with change and adapt quickly with new ideas and solutions.  This business world of improvising helps companies compete.”
  • “Improv-training classes can now meet the needs of businesses large and small, in any number of ways from building communication skills to facilitating teamwork to inspiring employees or brainstorming product launches.”

I’ve long been a believer in the value of improv at work.  If you’re interested in giving some exercises a try, check out the improv exercise video series.

Source: Acting Out: Improv Exercises Cultivate Team Building by Jean Thilmany. HRMagazine, January 2007.

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Better Business Through Improvisation

By on May 6, 2009 in Humor Benefits

Joe Keefe says, “Good humor means good business” and I have to say I agree.  Keefe, co-founder and executive producer of Second City Communications share his thoughts on business and improv in the FastCompany article Stage Coaches by Zoe Barton.

Some of the key points include:

  • “Businesspeople need to learn to open themselves up to a new idea fully, vulnerably, patiently, and accurately.”
  • “A player, whether on the business stage or the theater stage, must accept her role before she can own it.”
  • “Creativity is about emotion.  It’s not about logic.”

Source: Stage Coaches by Zoe Barton. FastCompany, 2007.

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