Creative Conversations

Creative Conversations uses brilliant games to develop the playful use of the mind that is characteristic of great innovators. You learn how to shift an ordinary conversation into one where you spark off each other's ideas and fresh insights arise. Techniques include introducing rich associations, probing for meaning, building on each other's ideas, finding the essence and drawing a conclusion.

I developed the approach because all too often I found myself having dull conversations with bright people. The spirit of play was missing - partly because most people do not know how to play with ideas.

There is more to these creativity techniques than just fun. They develop latent capacities of the nervous system. They help business people cultivate a creative climate and come up with fresh ideas, as well as contributing to team building and collaborative communication. Teachers can use them to help their students cross-connect ideas (helps memory) and gain deeper insight into concepts from science, literature and mathematics. Our games make intellectual engagement fun.

And of course playfulness and learning always bring fresh spark into any relationship.

Creative Conversations can be purchased through Lulu.com in paperback or in electronic form.

Three core chapters

The core of Creative Conversations is three chapters that give games and exercise sequences that develop creative communication skills.

Our improvisation games, adapted from Theater Games and Theatre Sports, are the best way I know for adults to recover the spirit of play in an adult way. They open up imagination, and teach fundamental communication skills such as be in the moment, don't block, make an offer, and build on your partner's ideas.

We teach Synectics procedures in the form of a ‘Contemplative Excursion’. Synectics is a very powerful group problem-solving method that is modelled on the thought processes of professional inventors. After analysing the problem they play with metaphors and associations in a way that leads to strikingly fresh approaches to the problem. Synectics shows us how to get movement with ideas.

Improvisation and Synectics lead to Creative Conversations. Our chapter on Creative Conversations shows how to introduce ‘rich associations’ into any conversation, and thus shift into a creative exploration.

Taken together, these three chapters amount to a potent course on developing creative communication skills. The skills are universal in the sense that they apply in many different situations. They are equally useful for corporate trainers, academic teachers (not just drama), youth workers and parents.

In addition there is a chapter with humorous diagrams showing how communication can go wrong, an advanced chapter on abstracting patterns from the flux of a creative conversation, and a review chapter on various approaches to resolving conflict so that groups can go into creative space together.

The final chapter brings out the connection between positive collaboration skills and the evolution of an ecologically viable society.

Purchase Creative Conversations here.

Coaching

Most of the games are self-explanatory, and can be understood simply by reading the instructions. However, there are games in each chapter where it really helps to have some coaching. Coaching helps clarify Gibberish Lecture and Julia's Game in the Improvisation Games chapter. In Synectics the challenging part is creating Book Titles. And in Creative Conversations the challenging part is the core concept: rich associations.

For some years I have successfully coached discussion group leaders through a course based on these games as part of a distance learning program.

We review the games and actually play them over the telephone, so they feel confident as a facilitator. The result has been uniformly positive. People get it!

Coaching sessions usually take less than ½ hour. The fee is a flat rate US $40/session, payable in advance. However, if you live in Australia the fee is AU $40. You pay the telephone fee, but if we do it online with Skype it costs nothing.

My e-mail is andrew.gaines[at]alliance4swb.com.au
My Skype name is andrewgoodhumour

Yours for a world that works,

Andrew Gaines