16: Rob Gets A Quick Lesson In Grammar; How To Look Smart

Published: June 3, 2020, 9 a.m.

This conversation includes several topics of interest to leaders and creative thinkers (that’s all of us), and even a little grammar lesson with laughter tossed in.  This episode includes banter about:

  • The best way to have fun and/or meaningful conversation with someone? Leave your phone in your pocket—or better yet, in the car!
  • What to do when the Zoom call freezes when someone is mid-sentence
  • What in the world is the Oxford Comma?
  • Does anyone truly know when to use a semi-colon??   Tricia’s practical advice: “Using a semi-colon well makes you look so smart, so fast.”
  • A fun group exercise idea to help your team (or even your family) get their creative ideas flowing
  • “Blue sky” meetings: a creative thinking tool from Disney
  • The most creative people are collaborators; they don’t create in a vacuum
  • If you’re having trouble creating whatever it is you create, stop and do something else to let your brain refill with ideas: read a book, go for a walk, do something different
  • Singer Johnny Cash’s secret to creative song writing
  • “It is far easier to be creative on schedule than it is to be creative on cue.” - Rob
  • “Sometimes you can’t stop the fun. Sometimes, when Inspiration shows up, you just pull up a chair and you invite her to stay, and you don’t silence her! Because when she shows up, she likes to have a voice.” – Tricia

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Sean of the South¸ an excellent and thoughtful blog by Sean Dietrich—easily found online or Facebook

Eats Shoots and Leaves, by Lynne Truss

Caffeine for the Creative Team: 150 Exercises to Inspire Group Innovation, by Stefan Mumaw

Bird by Bird, by Ann Lamott

Any books by: Madeleine L’Engle, Marissa de los Santos, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Lamott

Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon

Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh MacLeod (“that guy who draws on business cards”)

Do Over, by Jon Acuff, “one of the leading dreamers in the world”

 

Talk Back: Who is inspiring you? Who is collaborating with you? Where do your best ideas come from? Chime in on the conversation on our “Let’s Talk Soon” page on Facebook!