In the last post (here), I listed the five most common responses I get when presenting idea - but left out the most difficult client response to answer: "That's not creative."
How do you refute a response based entirely on the abstract? Unlike flour, blood pressure, earthquakes, synesthesia and waist lines, there's no known measurement of creativity.
Yet, people understand that every idea has some level of creativity, but it's difficult – perhaps impossible – to quantify how much or how little.
A different solution to presenting ideas is to show several ideas together, putting them in context from one another with a tool I call the Creative Speedometer.
Ideas are placed on a spectrum from simple and safe on the left side, to wild and heart-stopping and on the right side.
Before you unveil any specific idea, show your client the Speedometer and explain the creative continuum from mild to wild. Then, ask the client to select any idea among all positioned in the Speedometer. It not only suggests a range of creativity, it's a great psychological tool, because you learn a lot about your client by which idea they select first.
The tool's also is infinitely adaptable. For a pitch to a global restaurant chain, we changed the Speedometer to an oven dial. When he presented publicity ideas to launch a new hair dye for women, it became the broadness of her husband's smile. For a government tender, we used the size of a crowd - their constituents - who turned up to vote.
What are some other ideas you've used to address someone's response that "It's not creative"?
