The Creative Exercise of Imagined Stories

Imagined Stories is a fun, creative and stimulating storytelling exercise to encourage imagination and interaction.

In advance, prepare a set of different images. You need at least one image for each person in the group.

Make sure to cut images that have a context, that is, that a situation can be narrated. For example, an office with people interacting or a country landscape with people eating.

Distribute one card to each person on the proviso that they do not look at the image, nor show it to anyone else. Use a random method to split your group into pairs.

Without looking at their card, invite one person (in each pair) to start by showing the image on their card to their partner. In response, their partner is invited to share a quick story that is inspired by the image.

When ready, it’s time to swap roles. The person who just shared will show their partner the image on their card and invite the latter to share a story.

Help your group understand that this exercise is not a competition to see who can do the best storytelling. The goal is to use an image to let your imagination run wild.

Allow ample time for all partners to share, and then consider swapping partners.

Moment of Reflection

• How did you feel before your partner showed you the image of his card?
• How quickly did a story jump to your mind when you saw the image?
• How easy was it to imagine your story from an image?
• Why do you think the images are so inspiring?
• How is the improvisation of an imagined story correlated with the practice of creative thinking?

The topics of this publication: creativity, imagination, motivation, brainstorming, interactions, foster relationships, improvise