Glossary
active listening A technique of listening carefully to what another person is saying and then restating what was heard back to the speaker. This gives the speaker a chance to confirm or correct the listener’s feedback and creates a better understanding between the two people.
adrenaline A hormone secreted by the body’s adrenal glands, especially during stressful or stimulating circumstances, which can cause increases in bodily functions, such as heart rate and blood flow. You may experience this in the excitement of creating.
affirmation A positive declaration that uplifts, encourages, and strengthens a particular feeling or viewpoint and can be helpful in bolstering your creativity.
ambiguity This refers to the subject matter being unclear, having multiple meanings, and being hard to grasp. Learning to be at ease with such uncertainty is a key ingredient of creativity.
aptitude Having a natural ability or inclination to do or learn something. It’s not required to partake in a creative activity, but having an aptitude for it might make it seem to come more naturally and easily.
benchmarking A technique used by people in business to track and evaluate other companies’ most effective methods, systems, and procedures. This allows them to improve upon and incorporate these practices into their own organization.
convergent thinking A type of thinking that is analytical, deductive, logical, and usually focused on one right answer.
creativity Initiating, activating, and implementing ideas that are original, unusual, useful, or innovative. The ideas may advance an existing concept or seemingly spring forth from nowhere.
divergent thinking A type of thinking that is novel, creative, and looks in different directions and at many possible solutions.
extrinsic motivation A drive that comes from outside forces such as rewards, awards, promotions, money, and grades.
hot desking A way of organizing the overall workspace so employees do not have a designated desk of their own. They are free to choose a different desk, table, sofa, or station each day.
intrinsic motivation An internal drive to create due to your commitment or passion for the activity itself.
muse A term that originated with Greek mythology in which goddesses represented the arts, music, poetry, and science. A muse is cited in creativity as an unseen guiding force or spring of inspiration.
paradigm A set of beliefs that drive your thoughts and actions. Sometimes paradigm shifts are necessary if your belief structure is getting in the way of your creativity.
paradoxical A way to describe highly productive creatives who display characteristics that are contradictory.
reflecting A technique used in creative discipline with children in which the parent reflects to the child his expressed desires followed by providing guidelines that offer safe choices and redirection.
simile A figure of speech that links one thing to another using the words like or as to make the comparison more memorable.
synchronicity The concept of two related events occurring unexpectedly in a meaningful way.
talking stick An effective visual tool used by Native American tribes and groups to control who is speaking. Only the person holding the stick may talk, while others listen and wait their turn to hold the stick and speak.