Mr.Deepak Khandla is highly creative professionals and all his Art of Business has been thought and created by him.
He says being creative is about having an imagination – and each and every one of us has one of these. Unfortunately, it’s just been drummed out of us at an early age that creativity, curiosity, experimentation, and expression of ideas are all things that are not associated with work, a job, a business or a career.
Creativity is actually about problem-solving, thinking laterally, about generating and brainstorming new ideas and coming up with different ways of presenting those ideas.
You need to brainstorm ideas on how to best communicate your main messages in a compelling story that will have your audience on the very edge of their seat (or screen).
How could you use a mix of words and images, infographics and diagrams, create emotion, to connect with your audience and sell them your main points in a way that hasn’t been done before?
There’s a really simple four-step process that I use to kick start my own inner creative when I’m coming up with ideas for a new presentation:
- Brainstorm
Write down all your thoughts and explore multiple ideas for your presentation. What is your main message? What are the key points you need to make? How best could you present these? This is about quantity, not quality – a brain dump. Silence your inner voice and set your mind free. - Think visual
Sketch your ideas onto paper. This is about visualizing your key messages, main points, data and info that will make sense to you and to others. Draw diagrams and mind maps to connect the dots and your thinking. Remember, this is not only about ‘being artistic’; it is about being open to exploring. - Sense make
Turn chaos into calm. Get rid of everything that isn’t essential to your main points. This is your ‘aha’ moment where you start to make sense of everything you have brainstormed or sketched out. Begin to cut out the unnecessary clutter. - Action
Pull out one clear message that sums up your presentation. This might be one sentence that communicates your purpose, or a visual that is easily understood and connects with your audience. This is what you will use at the beginning and end of your presentation and at key points while you present.
