5 TED talks to inspire creativity27 Feb 2022

Ted Talks are known for being informative, inspiring and just an all-round good watch, whatever you’re interested in. Listening to a variety of speakers can help to inspire creativity and conjure great ideas from the depths of your brain. If you aren’t sure where to start, here are five Ted talks that we’ve watched to inspire creativity recently.

Want to be more creative? Go for a walk

In this Ted Talk, Marily Oppezzo talks about what creativity actually is. She carries out an interesting experiment getting people to come up with alternative uses for ordinary objects. The results are then judged based on the “appropriate novelty” definition of creativity. The groups of participants are then split so some are walking on treadmills the others are sitting before coming up with further ideas.

Marily also suggests that deciding what topic you want to think about before going for a walk, can help you to come up with more ideas – pop a warm jumper and some boots on and go for a plod!

The surprising habits of original thinkers

In this humorous TED talk, Adam Grant explains that original thinkers are non-conformists who think outside the box. Adam tells us how there is a sweet spot for procrastinating meaning people generally allow themselves to become more creative. Procrastinating helps your brain to be subconsciously solving the problem. Maybe scrolling through TikTok when you feel lacking in inspiration isn’t a bad thing after all! 

Your elusive creative genius

Elizabeth Gilbert talks about the fear of failure and how sometimes negative outside influence can stifle creativity. She tells us that trying to be a creative genius is not the best goal as it puts on too much pressure for creativity. Because the creative process is different for everyone, finding out what works for you can unleash your potential. 

How to build your creative confidence

Building creative confidence can seem like an uphill battle. People can have different opinions and the fear of being judged can dampen how we are creative. David Kelley speaks about how you can build that creative confidence and tells stories of people that have helped him. 

Why great leaders take humour seriously

In the last Ted Talk, Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas talk about how humour is a good way to help staff become more creative. It can allow for a calm and happy work environment which helps to produce better results for creative thinkers. 

So there we have it our top 5 picks to spark that creative energy inside! If you have any favourites please pop over to our Facebook page and let us know what TED talks we should watch to inspire creativity next!

Katie Gillingham

Katie is a Freelance Copywriter living in rural Dorset with her daft old Labrador. She first started writing content for the property industry back in 2015, and loves nothing more than bringing brand voices to life!