In this short film, Claire Bridges, author of a new book about creativity in business, In Your Creative Element, talks about simple ways to conquer the blank page.
Whoever you are – whether you need to sell a creative idea to a client, an internal stakeholder or to pitch for a bank loan or money from a VC – when you start trying to generate ideas, tackling the blank page can be daunting. There are some simple things you can do overcome your brain freeze:
1. The first one is about stimulus. Steve Jobs famously said creativity is ‘just connecting things’ ,so you’ve got to have more of those dots to join. Thinking about your challenge in an abstract way can help to find a new perspective. This enables you to go out and explore whether you can find a metaphor for your challenge or problem somewhere else in the world. The ‘related worlds’ tool is a great way to do this and is one of over 20 different tools to stimulate creative thinking that in I share in the toolkit in the book.
2. Another aspect that is woefully underestimated is allowing for the time that creativity needs. There seems to be a pervasive idea that creativity is like stand-up comedy – and that Eureka! moment just lands from outer space. But if you don’t give yourself enough time you are not allowing for one of the most fundamental facets of creativity which relates to the way the brain works – incubation. This is why we have our best ideas in the shower or walking the dog, or when we’re doing something else. This doesn’t mean you need more time for idea generation it means that you need to structure incubation into your process.
3. Finally, if you’re using tools you need practice to hone your skills.
Informed by academic research, interviews and 20 years at the sharp end of corporate life, my new book identifies 62 Creative Elements for creativity in business. Read more about how to conquer the blank page In Your Creative Element, The Formula for Creative Success in Business is published by Kogan Page and available at Koganpage.com and Amazon.co.uk