In 2011, I attended a Narrative Design Lab ™, animated by Dr. David Drake. In this one-day intro lab, we had a ton of fun playing with new ways of imagining our businesses.
Today I’ll share a couple of creative exercises that we played with (that you can use) so you can get your creative juices flowing when thinking and writing about your business.
Only one caveat: These exercises should be done in groups. So if you have a social learning group or another business group, inject these for a double dose of play and insight.
Warm-Up: Narrative Improv
We warmed up with a fun improvisation game. In groups of 3-4, one member of the circle started a story and talked for about 30 seconds. David stopped each story-teller and the second person was to pick up the story “thread” from where the previous person left off. The game continued until everyone had a turn at helping the story emerge. Then we talked about
- How did the story evolve?
- Were you satisfied with it?
- What did this exercise tell you about narrative? About yourself?
I felt my creativity kicking in and I was opening to new and deeper insight as well.
Using Metaphor to Write About Your Business
Next we were asked to write the first word that came into our heads (concrete noun or a place) on a recipe card or two and hand them in to one person. Then we were to select one card and write how our business is like a ___________ (whatever the word may be). The word I selected was “bicycle.” How was my business like a bicycle? Here’s my list:
[table id=10 /]
From this list David asked us to circle the one word/phrase that most intrigued us. I chose “a great ride!” Now how does that phrase transform how I look at my business?? What if that phrase was my tagline? How do I look at my business now?
My take on my business metaphor
Well, developing web content is a process. There is a give and take – a dialogue between me and my clients. I care a great deal about the experience that people have when they work with me so – working with me is a great ride.
What does this mean for you?
Playing in this space will give you:
- Freshness: Use these exercises to uncover new ways to think about your business, your products or your services
- Creativity: Flowing with your creative juices unleashes new possibilities and invigorates your work
- Fun: You have to work but make your work fun. These exercises encourage creativity and fun with the added bonus of unearthing new insights and creating inspired business results. That’s a winning combination in my mind
What process do you use to create content? Is it working for you? If not, what would you like to try?
I love this creative fun approach. Thanks for sharing this post Dawn. I want to hear more from you about the Narrative Design Lab – it sounds like a very worthwhile session. Working with you is a great ride!
David Drake will be animating another Narrative Design Lab series either in December or February. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop. (And thanks for the kudos on working with me… it’s mutual).