Three Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Presentation Idea Zappers

Sometimes we get stuck in a muddy mind trap and have trouble developing new ideas for our presentations. Whether it is for a new presentation or to pump some energy into your signature offering here are a few ways to keep your back pocket filled with ideas and keep your creative juices flowing.

A Walk in the Park
Often our creativity gets stuck because our minds become bogged down with too much information. Have you noticed that your best ideas come when you first wake up in the morning, when you are taking a shower, or you are having a coffee with friends. What’s the common thread? You are relaxed. Brain synapsis don’t fire well when they are stressed. The next time you are stressed for ideas take a walk. Not just a quick five minutes around the block but a good 30 minutes one. Think you can’t afford the time? Sitting at your desk struggling vs. clearing the cobwebs and getting your creativity flowing is a no-brainer.

Eavesdrop
Facts are Boring ~ Examples Sing — Hands raised for anyone who has sat through a fact laden “lecture” camouflaged as a presentation? Likely they were data rich and emotionally bankrupt. Your audience’s inner child wants to be persuaded with rich examples that support you statistics. Where are your examples lurking? In the conversations all around you. Pull up a chair at a coffee shop, at your next meeting listen instead of talking, or take a ride on public transport where conversations are ripe for the picking. Choose to listen and you can extract creative gold.

Mind Wandering Visual Journey
Let your brain do some leap frogging in visual stimuli and give your mind permission to wander. Pinterest and Flicker are visual candy. Take a walk through a virtual museum and let your computer screen take you to places beyond your desk. Challenge your mind to take old ideas and put a new twist on them. Look at what Petros Vrellis has done with Van Gogh’s Starry NIght and read the cornucopia of comments. Your audience has a thirst for solving problems in new ways — help them stretch their minds while you elasticize your own.

Let your mind walk, encourage it to really listen, and poke into some virtual travel – who knows where your thoughts will go and your ideas will land.

How do you get your ideas flowing?

image: Chris Willis

Let me help you get your juices flowing while collaborating on your next presentation: 1.778.327.8861 or email.

Tags: Idea generation, presentation design, presentation development