Creative Tip of the Day #1: Framing and Reframing Questions
Examine a problem from a different angle
I recently watched this TEDxStanford video with creativity expert Tina Seelig. She talked about our narrow view of creativity, which is something that really stood out to me. Dr. Seelig goes on to explain that a way to increase your imagination is through framing and reframing a question. “The way you ask the question determines the type of question you get,” said Dr. Seelig. If you do not ask a question in a thoughtful way, you will not get very interesting answers. Dr. Seelig gives the example that the Copernican Revolution came about by reframing a question, “What if the Earth is not the center of the solar system, what if the sun is? And that opened up the entire study of astronomy.”
Do you find yourself stagnating by focusing on generic problems?
Tip #1: Instead of of thinking of a cut-and-dry end-goal, sit back and examine the problem in different ways before beginning to work. For example, I might ask myself, “What can I write that will get a lot of retweets and shares?”, but if I sort the rubies from the rubble by re-conceptualizing the problem, I’ll ask “What sort of article can I create that will resonate with marketers and help their creative process?”, which proves to be a more meaningful angle that helps meet a specific goal.