How to Tap Into Your Inherent Creativity
Lesson 12 from: Data Storytelling: Deliver Insights via Compelling StoriesBill Shander
How to Tap Into Your Inherent Creativity
Lesson 12 from: Data Storytelling: Deliver Insights via Compelling StoriesBill Shander
Lessons
Introduction
1Class Introduction
03:29 2Do The Exercises
00:37 3Communication Challenges and Solutions
05:20 4Exercise: 4X4 Model
04:31 5Exercise Solution: 4X4 Model
03:25 6Introduction - Quiz
Thinking Like a Communicator
The Power of Story
06:48 8Six Ways to Tap Into Your Inner Storyteller
12:32 9The Importance of Understanding Your Audience
03:42 10How to Understand Your Audience
04:35 11How to Embrace Emotion (to review)
04:38 12How to Tap Into Your Inherent Creativity
05:55 13Exercise: An Emotional Story
01:29 14Exercise Solution: An Emotional Story
01:12 15Thinking Like a Communicator - Quiz
Telling Data Stories
16Basic Data Analytics Tactics
08:54 17Basic Journalism Tactics
04:56 18Defining Your Story
05:37 19Sketching and Storyboarding
07:05 20Use Your Words
04:20 21Telling Data Stories - Quiz
Essential Design Principles
22The Power of Visuals
07:44 23How to Pick the Right Chart for Your Data
05:19 24Exercise: Chart Selection
06:27 25Exercise: Visualization
02:59 26Basic Chart Designs Principles
08:21 27Research Driven Design Principles
06:27 28Exercise: A Data Story
03:50 29Essential Design Principles - Quiz
And Now What?
30Great Data Stories for Your Inspiration
05:53 31Tips and Tricks
03:53 32How to Sell Data Storytelling Services
03:56 33A Conversation Guide for Talking to Prospects About Data Storytelling Projects
05:30 34Course Summary
02:48Final Quiz
35Final Quiz
Lesson Info
How to Tap Into Your Inherent Creativity
do you remember being a kid? I distinctly remember summer days running around the woods in the park, near my house with my friends, we were all carrying sticks and playing army and at some point someone noticed the playground equipment looked kind of like a space agey kind of a thing. And soon enough we were playing astronaut or superheroes or something else. Play is a purely creative activity with nothing but the most basic of materials we constructed an entirely imaginative universe that kept us occupied for hours. But at some point the creativity gets knocked out of many of us as we grew up and are told to stop playing your job when doing creative work is to tap into that ability to think freely without judgment, which is where creative ideas come from. One really important thing to understand for many adults who don't work in creative pursuits all the time is that the creative process looks like this, It's messy, but it's not just messy. It's a cycle of crazy read this like a chart...
starts on the left where nothing's happening. And as you get more ideas, the process gets crazier and crazier, more and more out of control and confusing. It doesn't simplify and settle down until well into the process. This is something you have to understand and embrace to be creative as an adult. You have to ignore that inner parent telling you to get serious. In fact, you need to really embrace the chaos, follow a process and you can get too creative ideas. You may feel lost along the way. In fact, you should feel lost along the way. This is how you will often break the bounds into real creativity. The first step in a creative process is to try to enter into a free zone free of your inner, no free of that inner parent. You have to allow yourself to think and try every idea that enters your mind. This really means trying everything. In fact, I would argue that part of the process includes trying ideas that you know, are wrong. For instance, I always advocate writing a bunch of headlines for every project, some serious new york Times headlines and some absurd or controversial or funny new york post headlines by trying a bunch of those new york post headlines, even if, you know, you're running a serious New york Times type of article, you're trying quote unquote wrong ideas. So you can stretch and find better more creative, more quote unquote right ideas. This is especially helpful when you're blocked. If you can't come up with anything, try to think of the perfectly wrong idea. Say you're thinking of a visual to express an abstract idea like the unemployment rate, you know, the easy idea is a business person looking sad. That's a simple, lazy visual. But if you push a little harder and think of what it isn't, it definitely isn't a picture of a bunch of people at the office looking happy, right? In fact, this is always a cheesy idea. It also isn't a disco party, it isn't a child's birthday party, hmm. So it's definitely not a party. What's the opposite of a party? Maybe a funeral, definitely not. Maybe a bunch of people looking bored. When are people board, you have to allow yourself to go in circles like this until you get back to the right idea. But hopefully you can see how thinking about parties the exact wrong idea can lead you to the promised land. The biggest trick is to create word lists in your mind, actually not just in your mind, write them down. Think of any word that has anything to do with the subject at hand. Look for synonyms, antonym, go off on crazy tangents. This process is one of my favorite ways to get to a new idea to express something visually. And I highly recommend you try the trick is to move quickly and allow dumb ideas to flourish. Like I said, the bad ideas will often lead to good ideas if you give yourself the space and time. Another really important idea is that your first idea is usually wrong, well not wrong, but just not great. I used to teach S. A. T math prep and we taught the idea like this on the first part of the test which has the easier questions your first guess about the answer is probably right by the end of the test with the harder questions. Your first guess is almost always wrong because they're trying to trick you with what might seem like right answers, but really they're wrong. If you're coming up with a creative idea, the more abstract and complex the task, the more likely your first idea is wrong, meaning totally cliche boring or too simple. So push yourself, allow yourself to embrace the chaos, but try to get past that easy first idea when in doubt, look for inspiration. As Mark Twain said, there is no such thing as a new idea, it is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely. But they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all of the ages. Final example, that's on the same topic you're covering. Look for similar issues, similar audiences, you can find things to emulate. Don't outright copy and steal, but it's okay to be inspired by others. Work and take your own spin on it. The best thing I can tell you is to do the work, it gets easier, creativity is a muscle work, the muscles and you will improve up. Next is another hands on exercise