Why these talks?
Creativity is a vast topic. From inspiration, to ideation numerous aspects come into play, affecting each individual differently. This compiled list of TED talks aims to provide a complete picture of creativity for innovation: what it is, how to cultivate it, and some of the misconceptions regarding it.
4 Lessons in Creativity (Julie Burstein)
In her TED Talk, "4 Lessons in Creativity," radio producer Julie Burstein shares insights from her interviews with prominent creatives such as filmmaker Mira Nair, writer Richard Ford, sculptor Richard Serra, and photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Through their anecdotes, she highlights four key lessons about creativity: the importance of embracing limitations, finding inspiration in the everyday, persevering through setbacks, and allowing oneself to take risks. Burstein's talk offers practical advice and inspiration for anyone looking to cultivate their own creativity.
The 4 lessons in creativity by Julie Burstein:
- Creativity grows out of everyday experiences
- There are hidden opportunities in the challenges and constraints holding you back, so embrace them
- Sometimes pushing into we can’t do, helps us find our own voice
- Playful exploration can lead to ground-breaking discoveries
Creativity is essential to all of us, whether we're scientists or teachers, parents or entrepreneurs
Your Elusive Creative Greatness (Elizabeth Gilbert)
After writing the freakish success of best-selling novel, Eat Pray Love, author Elizebeth Gilbert was faced with the same challenge many creatives face: the pressure of topping her previous novel. In this talk, Gilbert points to how society expects so much from artists and geniuses and how this could explain why creative people have a reputation for being enormously mentally unstable. This talk gives great insights on why some serious self-management is crucial and we can help us flourishing with the right creativity exercises.
If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then “Olé!” And if not, do your dance anyhow. And “Olé!” to you, nonetheless.
Where do good ideas come from (Steve Johnson)
Interestingly, the Age of Enlightenment coincided with the rise in the number of coffee houses in Europe as coffee substituted alcohol as the go-to drink for many people. People spent less time being drunk and more time being focused on productive and creative thought. These coffee houses were the earliest examples of ‘spaces of creativity’, where good ideas came from. In this video, Steve Johnson discusses the requirements of these ‘spaces of creativity’, emphasizing on the idea of connecting rather than protecting individual ideas in a form of fluid network. Watch the talk to find out how hunches are cultivated rather than chanced upon in a single moment of wonderful illumination.
That is how innovation happens. Chance favors the connected mind
How frustration can make us more creative (Tim Harford)
Tim Harford talks about the unexpected advantages of having to cope with a little mess and how one can capitalize on the frustrations caused by these obstacles. Studies show that certain kinds of difficulties, constraints and challenges can actually improve our creative output. Harford explains through a series of relevant examples how injection of chaos can augment one’s problem solving process, a testament of creative thinking and creativity for innovation.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it isn't helping you
How to build your creative confidence (David Kelley)
David Kelley argues that people are not inherently ‘creatives’ or ‘non-creatives’. Instead, the CEO of the design and consultancy firm, IDEO, thinks that allowing individuals to develop their creative confidence and attain self-efficacy is key. According to psychologist, Albert Bandura, this can be achieved through a series of small steps and progressive successes, eventually turning fear into familiarity. According to Bandura, Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments. Breaking a challenge down into small achievable steps and gaining confidence from each success is key to gaining this all-important ability. If you are someone who needs that little boost to get started but don’t know how, this talk is for you!
“I really believe that when people gain this confidence, they actually start working on the things that are really important in their lives."
The surprising habits of original thinkers (Adam Grant)
You would be surprised by the work-ethics and thinking style of those who are deemed ‘original’ thinkers. Adam Grant once passed up an opportunity to invest in Warby and Parker, the wildly successful online retail company, due his misconceptions about original thinkers. The company is now worth $1.72 billion and Grant can only regret the decision he made all those years ago. Watch this revelatory talk to find out what makes someone an original thinker and how certain behavioral traits of people lead to their success as creative and divergent thinkers.
“Look, being original is not easy, but I have no doubt about this: it's the best way to improve the world around us”
Doodlers, unite! (Sunny Brown)
What does, how much of a doodler you are, say about you? Do you like to doodle but refrain from it due to its stigma of being anti-intellectual and counter to serious learning?
If you are someone who doodles a lot, there’s good news for you: studies have shown that doodling has a profound impact on the way that we can process information and the way that we can solve problems.
In this talk, American author, Sunni Brown talks about the societal misperception of doodling and how these perceptions couldn’t be more wrong.
“My friends, the doodle has never been the nemesis of intellectual thought. In reality, it is one of its greatest allies”
So what does all this mean?
It's not a surprise that some of the recurring themes in these videos revolve around the different creativity exercises to cultivate your creative abilities. These ways include embracing the challenges holding you back, capitalizing on the constraints, connecting rather than shunning away others’ ideas and acknowledging doodling and sketching as a legitimate tool for ideating. In fact, a lot of research backs these theories up. So much so, that we thought it would be a fabulous idea to package up these concepts and make an app out of it!
About Rolljak
Well, we eventually turned this idea into a product and now we have this revolutionary new app: Rolljak. This is a rapid ideation and engagement tool that encompasses collaboration, constructive constraints, and crowd evaluation that makes your brainstorming sessions not only immensely productive but also wildly fun!
Think of Rolljak as a cross between Kahoot’s gamification and Miro’s facilitation of collaborative work - the best of both worlds. Rolljak is blending the divides between collaboration tools and learning platforms to provide a hybrid experience which aims to supercharges engagement and unlock the potential of running collaborative activities for any audience or occasion while still giving you the option of running quizzes and surveys, making it easy to use in classrooms and workplaces alike.
If you want to read more about our app click here