How legos improved our workshops

You are creative‍

One of our strongly held beliefs at Sodium Halogen is that everyone is creative. So we are passionate about providing some structure to pull creativity out of each person. Whether we are working with a cybersecurity or a fintech company, we start every project with a workshop filled with exercises that pull creative ideas out of their head.

Story building

We’ve recently added a new exercise to our arsenal. Story Building allows participants to use a handful of legos to explain an idea. We’ve found the exercise is most impactful at the beginning of the workshop and here are some reasons why.

Warm up your brain

When a team is asked to think creatively, it can be intimidating and overwhelming. By starting with a simple exercise like building something with legos, team members can ease into the creative process and feel more comfortable coming up with ideas.

Permission to fail

Another key benefit of story building is that it creates a safe and comfortable environment for everyone to come up with bad ideas. Often, when a team is brainstorming new ideas, they are afraid of being judged or ridiculed. But with Story Building, there's no right or wrong answer – it's simply an exercise to be creative. Everyone feels more free to share their ideas, even if they might not work out.

Analogies are worth a thousand words

Finally, Story Building can help uncover ideas or concepts that are better explained with an analogy. Building something with legos is a visual and hands-on way of explaining an idea. It engages a different part of your brain, and it can be easier for others to understand and relate to. This can be particularly helpful when working with a team or presenting to a larger group. 

Ready to give Story Building a try?

1. Give each participant 20-30 legos
2. Share your prompt with the group
   - example prompts: “Build something that…
   - shows our ideal customer experience.
   - shows what you want to accomplish with this project.
   

3. Give them 3 minutes to build
4. Give each person 1 minute to tell their story with the legos.

Let us know if you try this exercise, or if you have any questions.