CREATIVE THINKING
SKILLS
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creativity is 1% inspiration and 99%
perspiration …
- Thomas Edison
Creativity involves breaking out of
established patterns in order to look at
things in a different way.
– Edward de Bono
Creative thinking is the drawing and
redrawing of mental boundaries.- Chia
Eng Hock
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There is no special personality or
prerequisite for creativity; any and all
traits and temperaments will do.
Whatever your personality, you have
as much capacity to be creative as
anyone else.
YOU, too, can be creative!
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Understanding Your Creative
Core
Domain skills
Basic mastery of your field of work
Creative thinking skills
See things from a different
perspective and to do things
differently. They include the
willingness to take risks and the
courage to try something not
attempted before
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Passion
the desire to do it just for the sheer joy
and enjoyment of doing it, a “labour of
love”.
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Activity 1
Take a piece of A4 paper, and fold it
into three. Now unfold it and holding
the two top ends of the paper with
your fingers, try tearing the paper into
three. Possible?
Creativity is not about working within
boundaries as it is about working
around the boundaries
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Barriers To Creative Thinking
When we say “It won’t work”, we
close our minds.
When we say “Why fix something
which is not broken”, we are killing
progress.
When we take sides, we drive out
objectivity.
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When we say “It’s not my fault”, we
hide from self-examination.
When we say “They don’t know”
(referring to colleagues, friends,
younger siblings), we throw away
important sources of ideas.
When we see too many problems, we
become numb and unable to act.
When we look to others to solve the
problem, we demean our own abilities
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When we reject new ideas
‘We don’t like their sound, and guitar
music is on the way out.’ Decca
Recording Co., rejecting the Beatles,
1962
‘The horse is here to stay, but the
automobile is only a novelty – a fad.’
Bank president advising Horace
Rockham (Henry Ford’s lawyer) not to
invest in Ford Motor Company, 1903
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Strategies To Creativity
Connect with people
Expand your network of
connections
talk to someone new today!
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Get out of your box through
travel
Travel can serve many creative
purposes
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Burst creative blocks
Provide inspiration for life in general
Reveal new points of view
Teach you something
Create excitement and adventure
Deliver opportunities for discoveries
Open up business avenues for profit
Help you relax and reclaim your inner
harmony
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Expand your mind through
reading
read books on different religions,
cultures, traditions
read books on creative thinking
Which book won the Booker Prize this
year?
The White Tiger by Aravind Aeiga
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Keep a daily journal
record your thoughts, ideas and
sketches as soon as they come to
you.
Writing can also be a good “sightbuilding technique”, improving your
perspective on various issues.
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Sensory stimulation
The mind needs stimulation
Adopting a regimented recreational
activity or sport stimulates the senses
and gives the mind a rest and time for
the subconscious to digest
information.
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Vary your interests
Develop an interest in different things
outside your normal sphere of work or
studies
The essential thing is not to become
too entrenched in your daily routines
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Take on challenges
Take up a new challenge each week
Prove your capabilities by taking on
new tasks and reinvent ways of doing
them.
and do mundane things in a novel
way
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Exploring New Ideas
It is amazing what the human mind
can come up with, when pushed.
Task 1
A) The One-Minute Idea-Generator
In one minute, come up with as many
uses as you can think of for a) paper
cup b) paper clip, c) drinking straw d)
_________ e) ____________
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Use Idea-Generating Questions
Task 2
Imagine that the object you are
thinking of is an umbrella. Using the
checklist, complete the following
exercise
What else could it be use for?
Possible answer: To spear a fish.
What else?
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What could be used instead? What
else is like this?
Possible answer: a newspaper held
over your head.
What else?
How could it be adapted for a new
use?
Possible answer: reinforce the tip so
that it can be used as a walking aid.
What else?
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What if it were larger (heavier,
stronger, thicker)?
Possible answer: make it twice the
size to shelter two people.
What else?
What if it were smaller (lighter,
thinner, shorter)?
Possible answer: make it small and
light enough to fit into a handbag.
What else?
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How might it be rearranged (or
reversed)?
Possible answer: turn it upside down
and use it to sun your food items.
What else?
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Activity 3
In groups of 3 or 4, choose an object
and go through the checklist. Be open
to each other’s ideas. After ten
minutes, share with the class.
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Object Analogy
Object Analogy uses ordinary objects to give us
answers to our problems
Just select an object (eg. a toothbrush) and
“object link” your ideas or challenges to it.
Look closely at the object, scrutinise it and
identify its various attributes.
Allow the attributes to trigger off associations in
your mind. Don’t be too literal; play with the
words, sounds, colours, meanings and you’ll be
surprised at the number of analogies you can
come up with
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HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY GRADES?
Flexible section of handle: Am I
flexible in my thinking, my
schedules? Am I open to new ideas,
new ways of doing things? Do I
listen to others’ opinions during
group work?
Toothpaste: Do I get up
refreshed in the
mornings? Or am I
always tired and sleepy?
Am I getting enough rest,
sleep?
Pink Handle: Am I in the
pink of health? If not, can
I afford to be sickly? How
does my health affect my
concentration and my
studies? Have I got a
handle on my life? Do I
know what’s happening
during lectures and
tutorials?
Bristles: Are my assignments/
projects solidly done or full of
gaps? Can they withstand
scrutiny? How much pressure
can I take or am I like soft
bristles?
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Metaphorical Thinking
To use “metaphors” is to describe
something by comparing it to
something else that has similar
qualities, without using the words ‘like’
or ‘as’
List as many answers as you can to
this question: “How is a camel like a
ship?”
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They are modes of transportation.
They carry things (a ship may hold
cargo while a camel can carry people
and equipment etc).
They both hold water (a ship holds
water for the people while a camel
holds water in its hump).
They can go long distances without
seeing their own type.
Sometimes they get lost.
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Activity 6
Creative Item/Object
Group work (4/group)
Part 1: Group Brainstorming (10 minutes)
An item/object will be assigned to your group.
Use Idea Generating Questions to expand on the
creative potential of the item.
Draw a picture of your enhanced item.
Part 2: Group Presentation (2 min/group)
Make a presentation on your group’s creative
ideas.
Every member has to speak for 2-3 minutes each.
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Feel free to include your own objects and pictures
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Give each student a question from the list below, or pair
them up or split into groups and later they present to the
class. A
1.Explain a flower to someone who has never seen or heard of
one before.
2.Write a story about the zoo without using the names of any
animals.
3.Pretend that you get to make one rule that everyone in the
world must follow. What rule do you make? Why?
4.What kind of soup would you eat for dessert? Write a recipe
for dessert soup.
5.You can have any three things that you want. In return you
must give away three things that are about the same size as the
things you get. What do you get and what do you give away?
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Give each student a question from the list below, or pair
them up or split into groups and later they present to the
class. B
1. What are some ways you could celebrate
“Backwards Day?”
2. Are you more like a square or a circle? Why?
3. How would the game of soccer be different if the
ball was shaped like a cube?
4. What are three ways the world would be different if
people did not need to sleep? What would you do
with the extra time?
5. What would happen if all the bowling balls and
bowling pins in the world suddenly became alive?
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Give each student a question from the list below, or pair
them up or split into groups and later they present to the
class. C
1.Which do you think is more important: motorized vehicles like
cars and airplanes or computers? Why?
2.If you could choose one thing that costs money and make it
free for everyone forever, what thing would you choose? Why?
3.If you could live in a tree house, would you? What are three
advantages and three disadvantages to living in a tree house?
4.If people could not see colors, how would traffic lights work?
Design a traffic system that does not rely on colors.
5.What are the 10 most important jobs in the world? Do you
want to do any of these jobs when you are an adult?
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Give each student a question from the list below, or pair
them up or split into groups and later they present to the
class. D
1.Pretend that parents have to take a test before they can have
children. Write six questions that would be on the parenting test.
2.If you could invent a new subject that would be taught to all
children in school, what would the subject be? Why do you think
children need to learn about your subject?
3.If you could talk to trees, what do you think they might say?
Create a conversation between you and a tree.
4.How would life be different if there were no electricity? List
three different ways.
5.Are you more like a river, a lake, an ocean, or a waterfall?
Why?
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