Negativity Destroyer
According to the National Science Foundation, an average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive thoughts. If we repeat…
Group dynamic
Youth workers are very often in the position of group leader - as a trainer, moderator, teacher. In a group, people tend to behave and interact in different ways and…
Creative Aikido
Just as Aikido uses the opponent’s force to defuse a potentially aggressive situation, Creative Aikido does the same. It uses ideas of others and builds upon them.
You as a Facilitator – Useful Tips
One of the intentions of the creativity toolbox is to encourage youth workers to engage young people in the discussion about conscious future planning. In these meetings a youth worker…
Group Contract
A group contract is a tool that is created to formalize the expectations of the group members. It allows participants to take an active role in setting the tone for group…
How to Stimulate Group Creativity?
While conducting creative workshops (described here) you will definitely face group fatigue, creativity blocks and running out of ideas and innovative energy. This is normal, asking yourself or someone else…
Room and Facilities
During our Imaginarium project we asked youth workers from Ireland, Poland, Finland, France and Luxembourg what they needed to boost young people’s creativity. All of them agreed that young people absolutely…
Mars Lander
In the exercise you divide young people in to a couple of groups of 4-6 participants. You tell them that they work for NASA and that they have to use their imagination to build a Mars Lander. The exercise is design in such a way to open people’s imagination and allow their creativity to flow. It is fun and on top of that helps to build teams and commitment.
Common Mistakes
One of the best lessons comes from making mistakes. This is why here you will find a few examples of incorrect assumptions that may accompany creative work. One of these…
Brainstorming energizer
Teams brainstorm on ideas of possible use of a specific item. It could be anything: a shopping bag, bandana, paper clip etc. The bottom line is that each team brainstorm on the same object. This is a competition, where the quantity of ideas counts. This is a great warm up before a real brain storming session. It can also serve as a separate energiser when your group needs to have a break and some fun for a moment. We use this activity when we observe a decrease in energy level or engagement in creativity work.
Connecting Colors
This exercise is a great way to connect ideas and build complex solutions.You can use this method when your team comes up with a large group of ideas that need to be evaluated and selected.
Democratic Dots
You can use this method when your team comes up with a large amount of ideas that need to be narrowed down and selected. Thanks to dot voting, you’ll give the team an opportunity to decide and select the most popular and the best (from their perspective) idea. The main rule is that each member has the same voting power, hence why we call it Democratic Dots.
Samurai, Mom and Dragon
This is a great interactive energizer which you can use with a group when people are tired and their energy is low. It’s an interesting variation of the game “Rock Paper Scissors”.
P.E. Lesson
When you start to notice fatigue of the group when doing creativity work, the best way to support them is to take a break from the thinking activity. It’s likely they’ve hit a bit of a wall, physically and emotionally. The best idea in such a situation is to let people rest.
Creative Aikido
Just as Aikido uses the opponent’s force to diffuse a potentially aggressive situation, Creative Aikido does the same. It uses the ideas from others and builds upon them.
Let’s Burn Them
This group exercise works well when some of the team members are experiencing creativity blocks and are finding it difficult to come up with new ideas. Use it when ideas should be fluid, when you are looking for innovation or new solutions.
Idea Killers – “Yes, But…” Candy Jar
This group exercise can be done at the beginning of a creative process. It will illustrate the participants how to identify idea killers in the group – all type of…
Giving Good Feedback to a Teenager
Why give feedback? Feedback refers to a comment on an act or behaviour that either seeks to change or reinforce that act or behaviour. That is, feedback is always intentional.It’s…
Negativity Destroyer
According to the National Science Foundation, an average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive thoughts. If we repeat those negative thoughts, we think negative way more than we think positive thoughts.
Reverse Brainstorming
This exercise can be especially helpful when a group is cynical about a subject or lacking energy. If you have members on your team who are pessimistic or who are worn out, this exercise can help take advantage of the pessimism or fatigue.