The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Welcome to Syncreate, where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology, and spirituality. Our goal is to demystify the creative process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
Creativity. It’s a word we throw around all the time, but what does it really mean? On the Syncreate Podcast, we share stories of the creative journey. We talk to changemakers, visionaries and everyday creatives working in a wide array of fields and disciplines. Our goal is to explore creativity in all its facets, and to gain a better understanding of the creative process – from imagination to innovation and everything in between.
The Syncreate Podcast is hosted by Melinda Rothouse, PhD. She helps individuals and organizations bring their creative dreams and visions to life through coaching, consulting, workshops, retreats, and now, this podcast. She's written two books on creativity, including Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities (winner of a Silver Nautilus Award for Creativity and Innovation), with Charlotte Gullick. She's also a musician (singer-songwriter and bass player) and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity
Episode 110: Creative Spark Series - Creativity in Communication with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick
,In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we reflect on how we can bring our creativity into our communication and relationships with others, using the “Yes, and…” principle from improv, which opens up possibilities, inviting dialogue, collaboration, and a deepening of connection. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.
For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to bring more flexibility, objectivity, and humor into your communication style for greater perspective, engagement, and collaboration.
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 102: Creativity as a Path of Adventure, Episode 106: Creative Confessions and Episode 108: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Our Minds.
At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching, including a monthly creativity coaching group, to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review! We’d love to hear your feedback as well, so drop us a line at info@syncreate.org.
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Melinda: Creativity and community are absolutely vital in challenging times. Creativity is also consistently named one of the top skills of the 21st century, especially with the advent of AI. Welcome to Syncreate, a show where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative.
What holds us back? How do we get stuck? And how can we fully embrace our creativity? We talk with visionaries and change makers, and everyday creatives working in a wide range of fields and media - from the arts to science, technology and business. We aim to illuminate the creative process from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life.
Charlotte: And I'm Charlotte Gullick. I'm a writer, educator, and writing coach. We are the co-authors of a book on the creative process, also called Syncreate. At Syncreate, we’re here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you're not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, now available in both print and audiobook format, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world.
Melinda: Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Syncreate podcast and our Creative Spark series. And today, we're going to be talking about how we can use our creativity for effective communication. So, you know, this is kind of the “Yes, and…” of communication. The principle from improv meaning, instead of shutting down anyone's ideas, we're always saying “yes” and adding to or building on those ideas. So, how can we bring this idea of “Yes, and…” into our communication and relationships with other people, as well as our creative collaborations? So, I mean, I think we can probably immediately see applications of this.
You know, if we're in a difficult conversation with someone, instead of being like, “No, you know, I did this, not that…” or “You did this.” It’s like, “Okay, I hear you, and this is my perspective on it.” And, you know, where can we go? There's all kinds of, you know, wonderful tools for opening up possibilities in communication, including in difficult conversations, but certainly also in collaborations where brainstorming an idea for, you know, a word project or whatever. And kind of building upon what's out on the table, in a way that is synergistic, rather than one person dominating the conversation or somebody saying, “No. That’s never going to work.” Or “That’s not practical…” or “We can't do that.”
You know, there's plenty of time at the end of brainstorming to narrow down possibilities. But there is an important space for opening them up, which sometimes gets shut down too quickly. So, that's kind of what we're exploring today. And this type of communication style clearly requires self-awareness. We have to be aware of ourselves. Kind of that emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-management, and then what's happening in the room, what's happening with other people and being sensitive to that.
Also, cognitive flexibility. Like, we can't be too attached to our own position or stance or just, you know, simply our own ego. “Well, this is my stance and I'm sticking to it no matter what…” You know, rather than, “Oh, that's interesting that you're coming from a different perspective.” Like, how can we… how can both be true? How can these two things coexist and we can get to a different place? It also requires like, asking for what we need rather than, like, assuming people know what we're thinking, or what we want or we need.
Like, asking for it. And, you know, all these kind of common things. Like, not being defensive, not taking things too personally, not taking ourselves too seriously. So did that spark something for you?
Charlotte: It did. And it's making me think about the creative process in another way. But like, so if we expand on the idea of the “Yes, and…” and you know, combining it with self-awareness, is like, entering conversations with possibility.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: Like, “Oh, we know we're going to have to have a difficult conversation about something that needs to change.” Like, right now, I'm supporting my sister as she transitions from driving with her feet to, she's moving to hand controls. And it's been a hard conversation because so much of her independence, like any human being that does drive and has the resources to do that, the driving means a lot to people and their independence.
Melinda: Sure.
Charlotte: And so, you know, I brought it up. I'm like, “Is it okay if I go ahead and call, and see what's possible?” And, you know, she got pretty tight. Like, I would get tight if someone was doing that to me. And it's just making me think about, like, what if there was a mechanism within us? Almost like the creative process where we're like, when someone brings something up, or like, “What’s possible?” Can I reflect on that before I react? And that's almost like the creative process is like, “Oh, what's possible?”
And let me think about that. How to reflect. How do I bring that into the world? And then we can, from a discernment place, react to it. And in the conversations not being like, “Oh no. I can't do that.” Or “I have to prove that I'm right.” And, one of the things I like about creativity (and this may be something that we add into our next book), is the shared goal of what is possible.
Melinda: Yes.
Charlotte: You know, in creativity and communication, it's like, we have something difficult in front of us. And how can we use the creative… the creative process to figure out what's possible? And with a little bit of joyfulness, a little buoyancy. Even if the conversation is very, very, intense. I mean, I know we both had some very, life changing moments with parents as they faced the end of life. And I know that, it is part of my creativity, was real time humor around really hard things.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah.
Charlotte: And helping people with creativity to get to a place where they recognize that the vulnerability is universal.
Melinda: Yes. Vulnerability and fear of change. I mean, it's almost like the most basic emotion, right? That tensing up when somebody suggests like, something needs to change. And we all have that. It's a natural human instinct, and it's served us well in our evolution to often keep us alive in uncertain circumstances. But, you know, on the other hand, impermanence is real. Things are always changing. And how can we be aware of our own resistance or fear of change? And that of other people that we're communicating with? You know. And have that sense of empathy? Like, “Yeah. I know this is hard.” Like in the case of your sister.
Charlotte: Yeah. Yeah. (Laughter) It was making me think about when Dreux and I were first dating, and we went to a party and afterwards I said, “Okay. Let’s give each other feedback about how we could improve.” (Laughter) And never do that. And I was like, “Maybe you could ask more questions.” Because it seemed like he was holding forth a lot. And I was like, “So my turn. What could I change?” And he said “Your entire demeanor.” (Laughter) “Oh, yeah. Woah.” And he said it playfully, but it made me realize… kind of this was a pretty obnoxious thing I just did. He didn't ask for that. But like, you know… like, he helped me to not take myself so seriously in that moment.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah.
Charlotte: But we - it is a joke now. It's like, “What do…” “You need to change your entire demeanor.” “Okay.”
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. Everything. Just simply everything. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.
Charlotte: I think the other point to just highlight before we end is like, how we can use the idea of collaboration in almost every area of our lives. Like, how am I collaborating with the other drivers when I'm on the road? How am I collaborating with my partner when we're trying to figure out the messiness, and how it needs to be addressed? That we're not in it alone. And that that creativity and possibility is rooted in a shared desire to collaborate.
Melinda: Yeah. And I think you really hit on it before. I just want to draw that out. You know, whenever we are feeling maybe threatened/defensive/tightened up in a conversation with somebody… you know, to kind of… instead of just retreating into that defensive or possibly hurt place, just bringing forward that sense of curiosity. Like, “Wow. Okay. What’s happening right now for me? What's happening for the other person?” Like, how can we find a way to deepen our connection here, rather than, you know, argue or whatever? Yeah.
Charlotte: Add to the arsenal.
Melinda: The arsenal of resentment. (Laughter) That slowly builds up over time. Yes.
Charlotte: “You know what I haven't thought about lately? And here's my list.”
Melinda: Yeah. Exactly. So our Pro Tip for today is think about one of your relationships, whether it's an intimate relationship, friendship, work colleague, whatever. Ask yourself if you can have a little bit more flexibility or objectivity or even humor about the situation at hand. And what happens if you allow yourself to just have that little bit of distance on it, or even take on another perspective? And see how this might be able to improve your communication.
Charlotte: And I think the thing about the humor is that it is… that's what for me… the one of the drivers is, it's how I try to get myself to be more aware, rather than poking at someone else.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: It’s like, “Oh. I'm pretty pretty serious about this right now. Are the stakes really that high? Can I back off a little bit?” So that's been helpful for me with using humor.
Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. And can we find the humor in ourselves? You know, like, Juro pointed out to me when I was in Iceland recently… like, “You know, if you can sort of be self-deprecating toward yourself, then no one else can do it first.”(Laughter)
Charlotte: Right.
Melinda: Right. Like, if we don't take ourselves too seriously and we kind of find the humor in our own situation, maybe poke a little fun at ourselves, then, you know, we beat others to the punch in that sense. And maybe it allows that… gives them permission to do the same.
Charlotte: That's great. It also makes me think about like, a kind of a template like, “Well, here we are. Two people trying to deal with X and how's it going?” (Laughter) You know, like, give a frame for the situation and that also, “Oh. We’re just people trying to do our best in a hard moment.” You know, like pulling some perspective, I guess.
Melinda: Yeah. As a therapist friend once said, “Oh gosh. Another suffering human being.” (Laughter) Like, and here we all are, you know, going through our lives, and we're all suffering in some way. And there's a lot, you know, a lot of reasons for that. But just to like, again, put things in perspective. We’re not the only ones. Right.
Charlotte: Yes.
Melinda: Yeah.
Charlotte: I said pulling perspective but I meant taking. But maybe it works.
Melinda: Yeah. We'll see.
Charlotte: Pull/take perspective. Just take it. Get perspective in there.
Melinda: Pull some perspective.
Charlotte: Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under @syncreate. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review.
Melinda: We're recording today at Record ATX studios in Austin, with Charlotte joining us from the Hudson Valley. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.
