Here's how you can ignite and nurture participants' creativity as a facilitator.

Start by emphasizing the importance of trust and openness in the creative process. Encourage participants to trust themselves and each other, assuring them that all contributions are valuable. Emphasize the need to suspend judgment during brainstorming sessions. Remind participants that there are no "bad" ideas and that all suggestions are welcome. Stress the importance of valuing unconventional ideas. Emphasize that creativity often stems from thinking outside the box and encourage participants to explore unconventional solutions.

At RYSE we remind ourselves and our young people that we are exactly who we need to be, exactly where we need to be, and that our ancestors are always with us as we dream and vision a world that is built on principles of justice and equity. Creativity can breathe when we remind ourselves that our innate wisdom has always been the answer. We often create a cadence that starts with reflections and activities that allow for appreciation and sharing of our individual journeys to the work and then we move into the journey that we are collectively building as a team. The big piece here is that the facilitator isn't outside of the circle, and that by sharing your own vulnerability you really build collective care and community.

imagine a shy person leading and how you as an attendee will likely mirror or match the energy being supplied. Now on the contrary imagine an outgoing vibrant person and how this immediately engages you and all the parts of your brain that will be needed for the planned activities. Planning is critical, but tone setting is foundational. Lead with passion, drive the engagement as if uncovering it for the first time yourself. Let the experience be something everyone feels and enable this by allowing yourself to demonstrate those feelings.

Support all learning styles to have access to the space, predictability is accessibility. ???Provide information about what to expect in advance…. Come prepared to “ .” Have information in different formats. ??Encourage all learning styles and challenge people to share the space (example share space/ join space). ??Allow time for people to process and contribute. ???Honor that creativity looks different for everyone.

Ask people to imagine themselves in a scenario first. Then ask the question you want them to answer. This technique focuses the brain and often results in richer, more thoughtful answers. For example, if a team is drafting a board presentation, I might ask them "Imagine you are a board member at the end of a long day. You've finished your work day and had dinner, and now you are in this 2-hour board meeting." That's the scenario. The question to my group is: "What can you do with/in this presentation to capture and hold your attention, as the tired board member?"

Depending on what you want to accomplish, use appropriate open-ended questions. For example: 1. If you want explore out-of-the-box possibilities: "What are some alternative approaches we could take to solve this problem?" 2. If you want to encourage divergent thinking: "How might we approach this challenge differently?" "What are some unexpected ways we could tackle this issue?" 3. If you want to deepen understanding: "Can you elaborate on your thoughts about this aspect of the project?" "What factors do you think are influencing this situation?"

It's essential to recognize the value of asking open-ended questions and their ability to aid problem-solving. Often, we rely on closed-ended questions that elicit concise responses. However, when we embrace open-ended questions, particularly those utilizing the 5 Ws (what, who, when, where, why), we can dive deeper into a subject, challenge assumptions, and uncover fresh perspectives. By employing open-ended questions, we foster critical thinking and creativity, encouraging exploration of various possibilities and consideration of multiple solutions. This broader approach enables us to tackle problems from different angles and discover innovative and effective resolutions.

When teaching concepts I try to flip questions. For example: - What if you didn't do X? - What would a bad example of this look like? - What is the worst way could handle this scenario? I find it opens them up as they have often seen bad examples of various situations and are eager to share. This stimulates discussion and is a bit of a warm up to a more authentic conversation. Often people just want to feel heard.

In the era of generative AI, it is also essential to consider the creativity in AI ecosystem. In the age of AI, creativity thinking takes on new dimensions, blending human ingenuity with the limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence. AI augments creativity by offering unprecedented tools for ideation, design, and problem-solving. The synergy between AI and creativity challenges conventional thinking, sparking unconventional solutions and breakthroughs in fields from art and literature to science and technology.

Constraints are the best way to ignite and foster creativity. In one of my leadership sessions, I started the session activity by asking the leaders to come up with a marketing plan for their products and services and did not give them constraints of any type. After the first round of brainstorming, I added one constraint and kept adding a few after each round. After giving them a final list of constraints the ideas that flowed in were not only creative but also were something that pushed the envelope for the group and allowed them to look at their products, services, and strategies in a new light. In my opinion, constraints do not bind creativity down rather they allow it to flourish more freely than it ever can without constraints.

In the arts the idea that restriction fosters creativity is an underlying principle. Placing constraints on an activity is particularly helpful to those participants that may not be in touch with their creativity. The constraints give them the opportunity to have the felt experience of what it means to be "creative". As they work with others and figure out novel ways to overcome the constraints they are participating in the creative process. This experience can help to inspire understanding and confidence in accessing their own creativity.

At points where you can feel unrest or a lull in the session (post lunch slump!) use the time to create more of a buzz! Have the participants on their feet, push the competitive streak within them (I find colleagues who are usually sat together during the session, are most competitive with each other when put into separate teams). Don’t give every session the same time constraints as more engaged participants may require less time. You don’t want to lose momentum or have participants slowing their pace to fit the schedule too much.

Constraints during a workshop promote logical thinking and allow the discussion to end well in time with the desired outcomes or decisions envisaged at the start of the discussion.

Time is a constraint that everyone understands and can get on board with. By using a simple timer that everyone in the room can see, you keep the group moving toward actionable solutions in an effective, efficient way.

Diversity is a source of innovation, though it often seems hard to achieve. In homogeneous teams, such as IT groups, diversity can seem elusive since most members share similar backgrounds. However, diversity can be fostered through gender, alma mater, region, specialization, musical or literary tastes, hobbies, or even differing viewpoints. Tapping into these subgroups can break apparent uniformity and spark innovation. Sometimes, all it takes is a different perspective to turn 'we've always done it this way' into 'why didn’t we think of this sooner?' Embrace diversity; it’s the secret ingredient to creativity, and achieving it may be the first step.

Another aspect of diversity is recognizing that people feel comfortable sharing in various formats. To accommodate different communication styles, diversify group sizes and configurations—such as pairs, small groups, and larger groups—so everyone feels comfortable and confident in sharing their ideas.

Diversidade é a alma da criatividade. Misture diferentes perspectivas, habilidades e experiências dentro do grupo. Promova a colabora??o entre pessoas de diferentes departamentos, culturas ou níveis hierárquicos. Essa mistura rica de ideias variadas pode gerar insights inesperados e solu??es criativas que n?o surgiriam em um grupo homogêneo. Além de ser uma ótima oportunidade de aproximar lideran?as de liderados em um ambiente onde a hierarquia n?o é o centro da conversa.

I totally agree with the idea of bringing in diversity in the discussion. The people from different backgrounds and departments look at the problems from a fresh lens and they also come with experiences about the topic in discussion on how they are affected with the decisions. Sometimes the designers and decision makers have a tunnel vision because they have been working in field for long and tend to miss some spillovers after effects.

A very easy way to make sure you can mix up the group's different members is by using the 1-2-4-all principle. First you let people work on a problem by themselves, then you have them work in pairs, quartets and group(s) This way you make sure you keep building on existing ideas and adding layer after layer of creative thinking.

It's important to emphasize that people do not need to be artists - it actually isn't the quality of the image that makes a difference but the thought that goes into concretizing an idea through something other than words. Visualization also helps externalize thinking so that the thoughts can be discussed and evolved collectively without being as personally tied to a single person.

Move beyond the analytical – get people to dream! For example, get participants to dream about how they will contribute to changing the lives of clients, beneficiaries, customers etc. through their work. Encourage the use of all senses. Ask participants to visualise these people in their environment. Are there specific sounds or smells in that place? What’s the overall atmosphere like? What are the people doing? Are they alone or interacting with others? Are they speaking, listening, doing something else? Are they still, are they moving? What’s their posture like? How are they feeling in their bodies? Encourage participants to shapeshift for a moment. Actually feeling into how they will be making a difference can be an effective motivator.

It is already proven that visual learning stays more with the person that auditory learning. It is also because the visual aids such as kind maps, story boards etc. give a holistic view and ignite discussion I.e. now the discussion is no more a one way dialogue but a two way discussion.

As a neurodivergent person visuals appeal to me and I've found my audience appreciates too. Facilitation is about engagement. Reading the room and recognising if you need to pivot.

Use metaphor and images to engage the associative part of the brain. For example, you could ask a group to imagine how the problem they are solving is like...and octopus, or a car, or a city. The associative part of the brain goes to work and comes up with the most amazing answers. That breaks everyone out of the norm; they are now out of the proverbial box. From there, you can invite people to brainstorm solutions, again drawing inspiration from the same metaphor.

En effet, l'intelligence collective pousse à la créativité ! Fort important de rappeler aux participants que les idées générées à travers des exercices, peuvent, suite à un brainstorming plus poussé se transformer en projets soutenables.

Reflection is the key. i agree on it. Structuring the reflection using various concepts on requirement, such as Kolb's experiencial learning cycle, Gibbs Reflective cycle, rapid cycle problem solving, etc. wo.uld be effective and productive

Generally, a lot comes up in workshops so participants need time to process it all. It's great to have some space in between workshops so they aren't dealing with too much information and it allows them to have the truly powerful insights that were unlocked during the workshop. Once the dots start to connect and the trail of breadcrumbs is revealed, then the magic happens!

When participants use their hands to make something, it ignites creativity! Pick energizer activities between your sessions that gather attendees in groups - or individually- around a maker task (a collage, an exquisite corpse game, build a tower using only paper). The brain will be focused on making a task that’s seemingly unrelated to your workshop topic, but it will help unlock new creative ideas and mindset.

Start with yourself. Work on expanding your own creativity first. And dismantle your blocks to whether you think you’re creative … enough. It’s easy to go with the clichéd statements and logical steps of ‘do this and then do that’. But look at your own attitude to creativity first.

To ignite and nurture participants’ creativity as a facilitator, create a supportive and open environment, use brainstorming sessions, and encourage diverse perspectives. Incorporate interactive activities and real-world problem-solving tasks. Provide constructive feedback, recognize contributions, and inspire through creative examples. Foster a growth mindset and allow space for experimentation and risk-taking.

Creativity comes from authenticity. When one is free to feel, imagine & express him/herself, authentic ideas & innovation are born. As a facilitator as well as a coach, by showing up as an authentic self, being open & flexible, welcoming all coming up with anything without judgement, are the fundamental presence I will be with the participants.