Creative Streak

Presenting, Standing Up or Sitting Down

2010-02-09T16:01:14+11:00

When I lead a Presentation Skills workshop, it's always funny to hear a participant say they'd prefer to be filmed sitting down. "Why?" I ask. "Because I never stand up to present." "Why not?" I ask. "There's no need to."...

Characteristics of the Creative Individual

2010-01-29T16:19:54+11:00

The confluence of three events – the month-long summer holiday, a broken toe, and the imminent move to a new office – meant I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I could take my time packing boxes. (Why can’t all...

Nothing is Original?

2010-01-20T11:04:36+11:00

In her post last December, Nancy King published this piece of art "in defense of bloggers," but it's just as applicable to creativity. The act of “combining” (which I jokingly refer to as “combinotics”) is an essential element of creative...

Best Books on Creativity

2010-01-18T11:34:05+11:00

There's nothing like a thriving conversation on LinkedIn to inspire you to research a topic further. Well, it also helps to break two toes over the holidays so your activities are curtailed to sitting much of your day in your...

The Best Writing Tips for Business

2010-01-15T09:01:16+11:00

When I taught a class in public relations at Columbia College in Chicago (circa 1987), a colleague shared with me Frank Visco’s original list of tips for good writing, entitled How to Write Good. Over the years, I read additional...

What If They Say It's Not Creative?

2010-01-08T10:52:04+11:00

In the last post (here), I listed the five most common responses I get when presenting idea - but left out the most difficult client response to answer: "That's not creative." How do you refute a response based entirely on...

Responding to Negativity (They Say, You Say)

2009-12-21T11:55:53+11:00

Although negativity most often affects the brainstorming part of the creative process, it’s equally destructive in the last stage – the merchandising phase – when you’re packaging and selling the idea to someone else, like a supervisor or a client....

Can You Switch Off Your Negativity?

2009-12-18T15:15:51+11:00

I recently gained certification to facilitate Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and one of the most fascinating parts of the accreditation workshop was analysing how different ‘types’ were creative or approached creativity. In particular, we debated how individuals exercised their creativity...

Why Are We Negative? (Part 2 of Negativity v Creativity)

2009-12-14T09:00:39+11:00

This isn't a scientific answer, but when it comes to brainstorming and creativity, our negativity falls into four groups. 1. We’re impatient for the ideas. In the immortal words of 'Chris,' a former colleague who was arguing with me about...

Negativity v. Creativity (Part 1)

2009-12-13T23:46:35+11:00

Outside of house plants, is there anything easier to kill than creativity? Many exceptionally fragile things come to mind: an egg, flowers, the ego of a Hollywood celebrity. But none have less resiliency than creativity. How sad because creativity allows...