Where do good ideas come from?

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

1. Where do you get your best ideas?
2. Do ideas come to you in the shower, on a walk or at your desk?
3. Have you ever had an idea that you did not follow up?
4. Do you prefer working alone or with others when you need ideas?
5. What is the best idea you have ever had?
6. Do you keep a notebook for ideas?

Read each word and the example. Then say a sentence about ideas.

Choose the word that fits.

1. The stage when you stop thinking about a problem and let your mind work on it quietly is called .
2. A feeling that something is true, without proof, is a .
3. Teams often in a meeting, saying as many ideas as they can.
4. A sudden clear understanding of a problem is an .
5. The judges admired the of the design, which nobody had tried before.
6. A first working model used to test an idea is a .
7. A limit, such as a small budget, that forces you to work in a certain way is a .
8. Designers by testing, improving and testing again.

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

1. incubation is the stage when ideas
   develop quietlyare soldare written down
2. a hunch is a feeling without
   peoplefeelingsproof
3. to brainstorm = to produce many ideas
   slowlysilentlyquickly
4. originality = the quality of being
   new and differentold and safelong and loud
5. a prototype is a first
   legal paperworking modelbank account
6. a constraint is a
   giftlimitguest

Use these phrases to express wishes, regrets and hopes for change.

• I wish I had...Шкода, що в мене не було...I wish I had written the idea down.
• If only I had...Якби ж я тільки...If only I had asked for help earlier.
• I wish I could...Шкода, що я не можу...I wish I could draw my ideas.
• I wish people would...Хотілося б, щоб люди...I wish people would listen to new ideas.
• If only we knew...Якби ж ми знали...If only we knew where ideas come from.
• It came to me while...Це прийшло мені, коли...It came to me while I was walking.
• The spark came from...Іскра виникла від...The spark came from a conversation.
• Looking back,...Озираючись назад,...Looking back, I wish I had trusted my hunch.

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

1. Wallas proposed four stages of creative thinking.
   TrueFalse
2. The text says that Post-it adhesive was originally very strong.
   TrueFalse
3. Several studies suggest that people brainstorming alone can produce as many ideas as groups.
   TrueFalse
4. The text says that a constraint always prevents creativity.
   TrueFalse
5. The text suggests that notebooks help to keep ideas.
   TrueFalse

1. Where do your best ideas come from?
2. Can creativity be taught?
3. Do limits help or harm creativity?
4. Which ideas have you regretted not following?

Common mistakes: for a present wish use wish + past simple, for a regret about the past use wish + past perfect, and for a complaint or wish for change use wish + would. ✗ I wish I have more time → I wish I had more time. ✗ If only I asked earlier → If only I had asked earlier. ✗ I wish people will listen → I wish people would listen. ✗ She wishes she can draw → She wishes she could draw.

1. I wish I
   hadhave
   more time to think.
2. If only I
   askedhad asked
   for help earlier.
3. She wishes she
   couldcan
   draw.
4. I wish people
   would listenwill listen
   to new ideas.
5. He wishes he
   hadn't given updidn't give up
   on the project last year.
6. If only we
   knewknow
   the answer!
7. I wish it
   isn'tweren't
   so noisy.
8. I wish I
   had keptkept
   my notes from the meeting.

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

1. I wish I have more time to think. →
2. If only I asked for help yesterday. →
3. She wishes she can draw. →
4. I wish people will listen to new ideas. →
5. He wishes he didn't give up last year. →
6. If only we know the answer now! →

Answer in detail. Use wish and if only.

1. What do you wish you had known when you started your work or studies?
2. If only you could change one habit, which would it be?
3. What do you wish people would do more often at work?
4. Which idea do you wish you had followed up?
5. What do you wish you could do that you cannot do now?
6. What do you wish your teachers had told you about creativity?

Three people discuss where ideas come from. Compare them. Who believes in sudden inspiration? Who believes in hard work? Whose view is closest to yours?

Your teacher will time you.

1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
2. Part 1: describe where and when you get your best ideas.
3. Part 2: talk about a wish or regret about creativity or work (use wish or if only at least twice).
4. Part 3: say what would help you to be more creative.

1. Do you keep a notebook or an ideas file?
2. When do you have your best ideas?
3. Do you work well under pressure?
4. What do you wish you had more time for?
5. Do you like brainstorming with others?
6. Have you ever had an idea that you regretted not following up?
7. Do you prefer to plan or to improvise?
8. What helps you to relax and think?

1. Who in your family is the most creative?
2. Who gives you good ideas?
3. Who do you ask for advice when you are stuck?
4. Who do you wish you could work with?
5. Who inspired you as a child?
6. Who would you like to collaborate with?

1. Is creativity a talent or a skill?
2. Do we have too many meetings?
3. Can you plan inspiration?
4. Is it better to work alone or in a group?
5. Are ideas ever truly new?