I’ve always thought that creativity lies in the eyes of the beholder. We instil or find creativity in places others may not; each of us stimulated by different images, sounds and actions. Given this subjective view though, is it really fair to criticise something or someone for not being creative enough? Looking at it from a PR perspective, there are ways we can improve our creative output, purely by thinking about the process a little differently.
The pressures of a PR professional’s daily routine and workload seem to be growing, with clients expecting more for their money, quicker and to an even higher standard. But in order to be creative, you need the time, so we find ourselves in a catch 22.
Last week, Bethan and I went along to the Creativity Clinic held by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) South West at EDF Energy, Barnwood. The workshop was hosted by PR guru and Fellow of the CIPR, Andy Green, who discussed the incremental nature of creativity in our industry and shared techniques on how to develop this fine art.
Andy explained that creativity is like a muscle that needs to be flexed. Using a slinky to metaphorically demonstrate his point, he explained our creativity can expand, change direction, be flexible and grow. It’s not rigid or restricted, nor is it as simple as black and white; our thinking needs to be managed appropriately, challenged and encouraged to help bring about innovative ideas.
Now, this might all seem a bit far fetched; you have around 10 features and seven news releases to write, social media accounts to monitor and that evaluation document that you’ve been putting off, all to be done in the next 24 hours. So when are you going to find the time to stop and think?
Once you have worked out how much time you are wasting not being creative, you can free up some time to allow you to think about things a bit more! Why reinvent the wheel when you can just change the context of a story, for example? As Andy said, it’s not just about being creative, it’s also about being ‘uncreative’; becoming more efficient in your day-to-day work.
In order to start this journey of greater creativity, Andy asked the audience to think of a problem at work and turn it into a question. The next stage is to challenge and interrogate your question, making sure it is as specific as possible, as your answers will then be too. Then ask yourself, what assumptions are being made? There is no out of the box thinking, asking questions will only make the box, and your ideas, bigger and better.
It’s clear that now more than ever, PR professionals need to break down the barriers to creativity by streamlining processes, become cleverer with their time and, of course, taking the time to stop and think.
Kalli Soteriou
Account Executive
