5 Verbs That Will Make You More Creative

By Brendan Boyle & Michelle Lee

There’s a lot of power in an action verb. It sets us in motion and empowers us to change our current condition. This is part of the reason why, a few years ago, those of us at IDEO who design and invent toys changed our name from Toy Lab to Play Lab.

The new name immediately felt right. For years, Toy Lab had made sense—we were a group of toy inventors within IDEO that designed toys and games. In recent years, our team has outgrown this moniker, applying play psychology and game mechanics not only to toy invention but also to challenges in industries as diverse as healthcare, education, and finance. 

Beyond better describing our breadth of work, Play Lab also felt invigorating. Play, as a verb, is a call to engage actively. We choose to play! And through the act of playing, we learn, we interact, and we grow.

As designers, we often have people approach us, asking how they can become more creative—and that's only more important today when some of us are working and playing from our homes. In the spirit of action, here are five verbs you can embrace and live by to boost your creativity.

1. Play

This one might feel obvious, but it's worth digging into. We believe that the opposite of play isn’t work—it’s boredom. Lots of adults think play is frivolous, something just for kids. Lots of companies believe play is putting foosball and ping pong tables in their office space. We have no problem with people taking breaks (please do!), but these companies are confusing taking breaks for play. For us, play is all about engagement, about loving what you’re doing.

Our Play Lab team loves to brainstorm. Not just because it's fun—which it is—but because rather than be burdened by constraints, we permit ourselves to dream big. A good brainstorm is often filled with laughter—we make sure everyone feels comfortable pushing their imaginations to build on others’ wild ideas.

Next time your team is tasked with coming up with the next great idea, give them permission to play and see how it changes not only the vibe of the room, but also the quality of output. If your team can put aside budget, timelines, hierarchy, and regulations for just the length of the brainstorm, where will their unbridled creativity take them? Following the brainstorm, you can always bring back constraints to refine your ideas, but it’s much easier to take wild ideas and reign them in than to start with safe ideas and make them innovative.

2. Explore

As we get older, we tend to get comfortable with the familiar. There’s nothing wrong with returning to your regular haunts, but how can you see the world through fresh eyes? Exploring helps us gain new insights and remain curious. Think of curiosity and creativity as good friends that go hand in hand.

How often do you take the same path through your neighborhood? Next time you go for a walk, try a different route. Stop to look at a plant you've never seen or admire a neighbor's front yard. Even in your house, how often do you spy something—a knick-knack or photo—that has escaped your attention? Try to take in details and notice things that previously faded into the background. Maybe even keep a sketchbook to record some of the most exciting things you come across. 

Itching to explore beyond your home and neighborhood? When it’s hard to physically travel far from home, you can still visit parks and landmarks thanks to virtual tours. Exploring is a form of inspiration gathering, which is essential for feeding your creativity.

3. Collaborate

The lone genius is a rare occurrence nowadays. Challenges are getting bigger and more complex than ever, and solutions require multidisciplinary teams. 

A big part of collective creativity is being a great team member. This is why students from across Stanford’s different schools take design courses with Brendan and his colleagues at the d.School—they become exposed to new disciplines and get comfortable working with students with different skills, ideas, and experiences. Being a good collaborator is essential to coming up with great new ideas that benefit from a variety of viewpoints and expertise.

Next time you need to beat a creative block, jump into a video chat with a familiar colleague to throw around ideas—or reach out to an unfamiliar colleague to get totally fresh feedback.

4. Draw

How many big ideas started with a drawing on the back of a paper napkin? On the first day of class, Brendan asks his students who among them is good at sketching. Usually, only one or two hands go up. He then asks the class how many drawings they’ve done over the course of that day or week, and it’s always a pretty low number. Finally, he asks, “How many emails or texts have you written today?” As you can imagine, it's in the hundreds.

As many of us have come to rely on written and oral communication, we've let our drawing muscles get rusty. Just like any muscle, we need to exercise it to feel good about it. To hone a creative skill, it’s important to practice more than a couple of times a week.

We’ve been around very creative people throughout our careers, and one of the strongest traits they share is that they are all comfortable doing a quick sketch to convey their thoughts. The drawings don’t need to be fancy. In brainstorms, we’ll often encourage Pictionary-level sketches as a way to get ideas out quickly.

Jumpstart your drawing habit in a low-risk way with the 30 circles exercise. It can be done with a group (we’ve seen it work with everyone from kids to executives) or individuals. As you do this exercise a couple of times, you may notice that the faster you can put your ideas on paper, the faster you can come up with new ideas.

5. Storytell

You can have the most awesome idea, but to get any traction, you have to make it stick. In his classes, Brendan has his students share their ideas as elevator pitches—just 45-second explanations. He also asks that they do presentations in the form of group skits instead of slides.

Creativity manifests itself not just in the final concept, but also in how we share it with others. How many boring presentations have we all sat through? Finding ways to engage your audience in the story of your work is also a big part of the creative process. 

Next time you’re asked to share a new concept, try presenting it as a user story, or even better, as a skit. Instead of focusing only on product features and specifications, demonstrate the user experience. Not only will your audience find a more human connection to your idea, but you’ll likely find ways to make your idea even better.

If you want to be more creative, try using these five verbs to begin changing how you approach the world. These verbs will make you more of a doer and a maker, more creative on all things big and small, and more prepared to start with your actions.

Illustrations by Emily Eldridge.