2. Produce Ideas Producing a large quantity of ideas is the first way to produce creative solutions, but it is not the only way. Another important way is to stimulate your imagination. Most people behave unimaginatively not because they lack imagination but because they fear the reaction their ideas will receive.
3. Produce Ideas In time, we grow used to suppressing ideas that differ from the norm, ideas that might raise eyebrows. They do themselves a great disservice because creativity depends upon imagination. “No great discovery is ever made without a bold guess.” –Sir Isaac Newton.
4. Produce Ideas It takes more than determination to stimulate your thoughts. Here are a few strategies: Force uncommon responses Use free association Use analogy Look for unusual combinations Visualize the solution Construct pro and con arguments Construct relevant scenarios Has anyone used any of these in the workplace?
5. Produce IdeasForce Uncommon Responses: Familiar ideas tend to come first. Expect them, even encourage them. Free your mind for more original ideas. Some poets, as rule, cut the first ten to twelve lines of a poem. They know that this is mere scaffolding. Write down all the ideas. Even the ridiculous ones. Uncommon ideas will eventually come.
6. Produce IdeasUse Free Association Free association means letting one idea suggest another. It differs from forced response in that you are not directing your mind at all but giving it free reign, relaxing your control over it momentarily and observing what ideas and associations result. Some of the ideas may be quite unexpected and may point out interesting and profitable directions. Write these down. What seems irrelevant when it occurs to you may later prove valuable.
7. Aiming for Originality Like every other creative skill, originality can be learned. To achieve originality in your thinking, demand it of yourself. I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o'clock every morning. -William Faulkner Remind yourself that there is nothing mysterious about originality; it lies just a step or two beyond the commonplace. Don’t restrict your ideas to those you have heard or thought of before. Watch your fringe thoughts—i.e., thoughts occurring on the edge or fringe of consciousness. Carry a notebook, takes voice notes.
8. Withholding Judgment Judgment is an essential part of thinking. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to distinguish between good and bad solutions or select the best and most workable one. BUT, the timing of our judgment can make all the difference. If you don’t time your judgment well, good ideas are discarded before they are fully conceptualized. Remember, if at first you don’t succeed, call in an airstrike, er…I mean, keep trying.
9. Who the heck was Carl Rogers?And why do we care? Carl Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology. Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the American Psychological Association in 1956.
10. Carl Rogers His progressive research on psychotherapy gave birth to a progressive alternative to the classical argument model (Toulmin’s model would be considered a classic argument model).
11. What is Rogerian Argument? https://nic.angellearning.com/section/content/Default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=D71C15FCE8B54BCDA4A012CE21C74A29
13. Rogerian Model Developed by psychologist Carl Rogers (also in the ’50s) Emphasizes problem-solving and/or coming to consensus Unlike in Classical argument, is not an argument to win; instead, emphasizes a “win-win” solution benefiting both parties Useful in psychological and emotional arguments, where pathos and ethos dominate.
14. Benefits of Rogerian Argument Allows the author to appear open-minded or even objective Appropriate in contexts where you need to convince a resistant opponent to at least respect your views
15. RogerianArguments:Structure Introduction: statement of problem to be solved or question to be answered Summary of Opposing Views: described using a seemingly objective persona Statement of Understanding: concedes circumstances under which opposing views might be valid Statement of Your Position Statement of Contexts: describes contexts in which your position applies/works well Statement of Benefits: appeals to self-interest of readers who may not yet agree with you; demonstrates how your position benefits them
16. An Example of Rogerian Argument: Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr.’s “Whiskey Speech” Persona: Author/Speaker was a legislator, lawyer, and judge Known as Judge “Soggy” Sweat; “Soggy” was short for “Sorghum Top” = the tassel at the top of a sugar cane plant Occasion/Context: Debate in Mississippi Legislature in 1952 regarding the possible legalization of liquor Liquor was illegal in Mississippi. But the state collected what was called a “black market” tax on it totaling millions of dollars.
17. Sweat’s Speech, continued My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.
18. Sweat’s Speech, continued If when you say whiskey, you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation and despair and shame and helplessness and hopelessness --- then I am certainly against it.
19. Sweat’s Speech, continued But if, when you say whiskey, you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy and his happiness and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies and heartaches and sorrows;
20. Sweat’s Speech, continued if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our pitiful aged and infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then I certainly am for it. This is my stand, and I will not compromise.
21. Sweat’s Speech Sweat’s 1952 speech on the floor of the Mississippi state legislature concerning whiskeyis considered a classic example of political doublespeak. It also serves as an execellent example of the powerful rhetoric the Rogerian model can provide. Reportedly the speech took Sweat 2½ months to write.
22. Sweat’s Speech Introduction: statement of problem to be solved or question to be answered Summary of Opposing Views: described using a seemingly objective persona Statement of Understanding: concedes circumstances under which opposing views might be valid Statement of Your Position Statement of Contexts: describes contexts in which your position applies/works well Statement of Benefits: appeals to self-interest of readers who may not yet agree with you; demonstrates how your position benefits them
