Got stuck? The deadline pressure blocking the flow of ideas?
Try this simple hack:
--Write down your problem, or the brief for the given task. That's simple, isn't it?
--Now, write down some bad ideas. I mean, seriously bad ideas.
So, if our brief is: How to make a better presentation?
Here are some bad ideas--
--Whatever presentation we make must be evaluated as a good presentation.
--BOOM! Anyone criticizing our presentation should be shot in the head!
--Use abstract paintings for the presentation.
--Use very small point 6 text which can't be read.
--Make a logical flow of slides and then jumble them up meaninglessly!
All these ideas are seriously bad.
They fly in the face of what gurus tell us about making a good presentation.
Things like--
- Respect the audience's intelligence.
- Think about all the objections to your ideas in advance. And answer them in the presentation.
- Try your presentation with some close friends and see what improvements they suggest.
- Use fonts which are easy to read.
- Use pictures to add clarity and meaning to the intent of your presentation.
- Create a story unfolding through respective slides.
Now, something interesting will happen.
The playfulness and absence of judgement, as we aren't trying to create good ideas, will make your creative juices flowing.
These bad ideas will trigger some fresh ideas!
Like--
- What about starting the presentation with a BANG!
Say, the first slide will open up with a loud sound. - Or, we will use the pistol as our opening slide.
Other ideas could be...
...We will create a series of slides showing bad solutions and then will criticise their shortcomings. After every such slide, we will present our solution as a better solution.
...We will show an abstract painting and ask the audience what emotions and memories it evokes in them. This free-flowing discussion will stimulate their creative minds, and they will be open to our ideas in later slides…Even better, we will connect our further ideas with the things they spoke about.
...Use small fonts and then zoom in. Or use zoom-in as a visual device through the presentation.
...Create a jumbled up mood board and then create the final presentation along with the audience!
Now, some of these ideas are good, isn't it? And perhaps we wouldn't have thought about, if we avoided the 'bad' ideas.
That's why I say, no idea is a bad idea!
