3 Ways to Improve Business Creativity

Anybody who says that only certain people are creative is wrong. Everybody is creative in their own way and just because someone’s creativity may not be as obvious as someone else’s, it should still be encouraged in a similar way. Creativity is important in many different areas of your life; it can keep a relationship fresh and exciting, it can help with hobbies and interests and it can definitely help in the business world.

Most employers would rank creativity very highly on a list of attributes that their potential employees should have and nearly all business owners would like to say that there work force is full of creative ideas. However, this is not often the case as employees can feel reluctant to express themselves creatively at work for many different reasons.

Now more than ever, business need to find new ways of developing and growing as a company and creative employees are sure to help with this. Here are a few ways you can increase the creativity, and therefore the productivity in your work place.

Encourage Interaction

A lot of business owners and managers will set their work environment up in a way which, in their own view, will get the most out of their employees and therefore promote productivity. However, the thought process behind this can often be misled. Arranging the desks in an office so that nobody is facing each other or separating each individual into their own cubicle may not be the best way to promote good work; especially when thinking about creativity.

Creativity works on a basis by which an idea is conceived and then developed by a process of discussion and manipulation. This cannot happen if your workforce is not encouraged to interact with one another. As long as the conversation remains focussed; ideas will be allowed to develop and flourish in a productive environment.

Have Regular Meetings

It may sound strange to anybody working in a small company but people working in many of the larger corporations are likely to never have met most of the other people that work within the business. Whether it’s just between all the people in a single department or whether it involves many different areas of your company, getting your workforce together for regular meetings can really improve creativity in the work place.

They will be able to find out how things work in different areas of the business and in different branches which in turn may give them some ideas for the area in which they work. It will also give everybody an opportunity to discuss any ideas or concepts that they might have with like-minded people and people that are well informed to be able to give them feedback.

You could even take your employees on regular courses that help to improve their creativity. Creativity can be learned and developed in someone, even if they don’t regard themselves to be a creative person. These courses will help to improve creative thinking and brainstorm facilitation.

Have an ‘Open Door’ Policy

Although this may sound like something you might hear a cheesy boss say in a movie or a sitcom, having an open door for your employees is a great way to encourage the creativity inside them to thrive. If they feel like they cannot approach their manager with any ideas they have, that idea may never have the chance to develop.

If you encourage your workforce to come to you with any ideas or potential advancements they may have for the business then you may be surprised with the results. No idea is bad and even if you don’t like the things that your employees are thinking up, just knowing that they can speak to you about any thought they might have will encourage them to be more creative in the work they do.

This article is written by Chris Mayhew on behalf of Now Go Create. Visit their website today to see how their creativity training can improve brainstorm facilitation and creative thinking for your business.

 

You Can Learn to Love Public Speaking

Public speaking is one of the most feared aspects of modern life. Even people who seem to be totally self-assured and confident can be reduced to a jiggling mass of nerves when confronted with the idea of giving a speech or a presentation. Are you one of the people who would rather do anything than to speak in front of others? If so, you may be relieved to know that there are ways to overcome your fear and learn to be blissfully comfortable when doing public speaking. It’s important to learn this, especially for one that want to become a midwife, or anything else. Here’s how:

• Be mentally prepared. Of course you need to know your speech or presentation inside and out. You need to be so comfortable with the material that you could do a passable job of presenting it without notes. Equally important, however, is being aware of how you are going to feel and present yourself while speaking. Before you give your speech, close your eyes and breathe deeply to stimulate relaxation. Imagine watching yourself from the audience and seeing a presenter who is relaxed, knowledgeable, and friendly. By planting the idea that you will be great in your mind, you can make it a reality.
• Be in control. You are in charge of your thought processes. The brain can only handle so many tasks at once. Just as too much fear can prevent you from thinking clearly, concentrating can block feelings of fear. If you are in front of a group and feel panic trying to set in, take a moment to breathe deeply and remind yourself that you know the material.
• Make a connection. A truly great speech or presentation will feel more like sharing information with people instead of talking at people. While it is okay to have notes from which to jog your memory, be knowledgeable enough that you rarely need the notes so you can simply make a real, personable connection with your listeners. Talk as if you are talking to a friend and make sure any visual aids are secondary to you.
• Be yourself. The fact that you are delivering important information doesn’t mean that you have to become a robot. Try to maintain a relaxed demeanor and speak in a conversational tone. This will make the presentation more comfortable for everyone involved. After all, everyone hates a dull, monotone speaker.
• Find a role model. If you are at a complete loss as to how to give a speech, find a speaker you admire and carefully watch and listen to how he or she does things. This will give you a great starting point from which you can develop your own particular style. Soon, you will be the model for others.
• Work the audience. Let everyone know at the beginning that you expect them to raise their hands before making comments and when you will be accepting questions. If someone interrupts you, kindly but firmly remind them of your guidelines. It is also a good idea to use humor and personal anecdotes. Make eye contact with different people around the room and smile often. This will help to keep your audience involved and interested. By working them correctly, you will have the audience hanging on your every word.

Bobby G. likes to write about how to help yourself be happy.

 

Dreams: When to Know You’re Stressed Part 2

Continuing from where we left off in part 1 of Dreams: When to Know You’re Stressed, we will discuss four more dream symbols that could indicate your life is more hectic than you may have realized. Often we internalize stress and don’t even recognize its presence. However, it will always find some way of manifesting itself, and often it comes out through our subconscious by way of dreams.

Hell. Whether you believe it exists or not, many people dream of being caught in a flaming pit of fury. This can symbolize being entrapped in a situation that you dislike or possibly that you are having feelings of guilt about something. If you are dreaming of Hell, you can pretty much be assured that you have some unresolved issues in your life that are causing you stress and must be addressed.

Bugs. Unless you’re an Entomologist, most people find bugs disgusting to some level. They are creepy and crawly, get in your food, your bed, and even your body! They are horrible when you think of it that way. If you are dreaming about bugs, it can mean several things. This is one of the few stress-related dream symbols that can get a little hairy (pun intended!). Miller indicated that bug dreams in general suggest that there is a complication in your life that you are struggling with. Taken in a more literal sense of the word, according to modern usage, there could something going on in your life that is “bugging” you. Either of these explanations works as far as your dreams showing you clearly that you have too much stress in your life.

Death. Death is a clear symbol of something ending. Usually you will dream of death when you are fearing that some current aspect of your life is about to change, such as career, relationship status, or children moving away from home. Death dreams don’t necessarily symbolize that the forthcoming change is bad, just that you fear the change.

Cats. I couldn’t resist saving the best for last, mostly because of its shock value. Many dream experts have agreed that cats in a dream are a bad sign and suggest impending misfortune—or at least that you are fearing an impending misfortune. If you are able to get rid of the cat in your dream by killing it or chasing it away, Miller says that you will be able to change the course of events to something more favorable. If the cat is friendly, then you may be setting yourself up to face this difficulty head on.

Dreams are an incredibly interesting subject and we could go on forever discussing their meanings and innuendos. However, there are some symbols that are more clear to read than others. If you are struggling with something in your life, or are refusing to accept the fact that you’re struggling, your dreams can reveal the truth. They show you what is really going on inside your mind, even if you aren’t willing to admit it to yourself. You would be wise to take notice if you are repeatedly having dreams about any of these stress-related symbols.

About the Author
 Natalie Clive is a professional that works with MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers gives all the necessary tools and information that peole need in order to get back to the right online school. Through the Web site, you can get in touch with as many accredited online colleges as you want, and then you can find a plan that fits your schedule.

 

Dreams: When to Know You’re Stressed Part 1

Dreams are an amazing manifestation of our subconscious thoughts and feelings. Most of the time we think that our dreams are pure nonsense, which can very well be true. But other times they are a reflection of the things we are thinking and feeling. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of books have been written on the subject of dreams. This article won’t be able to do any kind of justice to the great expanse of our subconscious thoughts, but it would be interesting to list a few of the indicators that might show up in our dreams when we are feeling particularly stressed with school, work, or just life in general. Most of the explanations I used below come from 20th century dream expert Gustavus Hindman Miller and his book 10,000 Dreams Interpreted: A Dictionary of Dreams.

Embarrassing. This one is an oldie but a goody. Many people dream about showing up to their first day of school, or to a very important meeting, wearing nothing but their birthday suit. It takes you a minute to finally realize that you aren’t dressed because everyone around you is acting normally. The obvious interpretation of this is that you are feeling vulnerable or unprepared.

Losing Teeth. Sometimes they simply fall out one at a time, other times they will crumble away. According to Miller, teeth falling out represent burdens that could potential crush your pride. Meaning, if you have a job interview the next day, you are worried about not being offered the position and having your pride hurt. Or it could also mean that you are going through a transition in life (as in, losing your baby teeth and having new adult teeth grow in their place). Along these same lines are losing your hair or even fingernails. Storms. Storms can take the form of tornados, hurricanes, or hail in your dreams. The symbolism of this one isn’t hard to figure out. There is obviously something going on in your life that is causing you fear and worry. Possibly you feel like there is so much going on at once that life is a figurative whirlwind of decisions, activities, and emotional turmoil. If you find that each day you have a wide range of emotional ups and downs, then your dreams about storms are easily explained.

Crashes/Falling. Have you ever been on the cusp of a deep sleep and had a dream that you were free-falling towards the earth with no parachute to slow you down? Right as you hit, you are startled awake! Once again, the symbolism is obvious. Crashing/falling dreams show that you fear that your life is heading for disaster. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true, just that you fear it could be. The type of crash/falling experience can also be significant. Airplane crashes can mean you set your standards higher than you could handle, car crashes might mean that you are simply going through a painful experience. While simply falling from the sky out of nowhere can signify that you have a general fear of failure.

In Part 2 of this article, we’ll discuss four more dream symbols that could indicate you have a high level of stress in your life, so stay tuned!

About the Author

Natalie Clive writes inspirational pieces for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers gives people the resources they need to get themselves back to college, and into the careers they want. MCC will also put you in touch with accredited online colleges that will allow you to reach previously undreamed of positions.

 

Is Your Anger Killing Your Art?

by Seth Godin

It’s rare to find a consistently creative or insightful person who is also an angry person.*

They can’t occupy the same space, and if your anger moves in, generosity and creativity often move out. It’s difficult to use revenge or animus to fuel great work.

Ironically, when you decide to teach someone a lesson they richly deserve, you often end up strangling the very source you were counting on.

(*Angry is not the same as being a jerk. For some reason, there are plenty of creative jerks–I think because they mistakenly believe that being a jerk is a useful way for some people to wrestle with their lizard brains).