Writing Creative Motivational Quotes Exercise

Purpose

Inspire creativity and enhance soft skills by teaching delegates to craft original motivational quotes. We are used to reading and getting inspired by motivational quotes from the great thinkers or famous people. What if we had to create such quotes ourselves. The act of creation may make such statements more memorable and more impactful for us and for people who know us.

This exercise provides a structured approach to motivational quote creation, and you can use it as a template for running such exercises. This exercise develops communication, creativity and critical thinking skills, encouraging a positive mindset for personal and professional growth. It also helps you create a collaborative environment for sharing, critiquing and enhancing work done by delegates as they get to help and inspire each other in the process.

Objective

Engage delegates in a creative and analytical process to improve writing skills and the ability to convey complex ideas succinctly. They get to create original motivational quotes on themes such as positivity, determination, motivation, happiness, goal setting and resilience.

What You Need

• Writing materials
• A projector or large screen for displaying quotes
• Internet access for checking quote originality
• Digital devices for each delegate with internet access (could be phones, tablets or laptops)
• A copy of example quotes handout for each delegate. This is provided below. The list contains quotes made by Skills Converged, rather than quotes made by famous people. Knowing that a quote is made by some famous person and being asked to top it, can be a little daunting and potentially distracting. It could be difficult to top something like “To be or not to be!” in a five minute exercise! So instead, we are providing a list that sets the scene for a specific focused exercise. You can tailor this list to whatever set you like to customise this exercise. Treat this activity as a template for such exercises and you can control what delegates need to create based on the examples you give them in this handout.
• STAR tokens, like those found in board games, to represent points given to delegates.

Setup

• Explain the purpose of the exercise and the objective. Distribute the example quotes handouts and set a high benchmark for what you expect. Allow delegates enough time to read the quotes to get inspired. Ideally you should show them on the screen one at a time and get the whole class to read them together one by one. They should have the handouts anyway so they can use them as reference.
• Start the exercise with the first round. Each round has six stages:

1. Writing (10 min). Ask delegates to write two quotes.
2. Sharing (5 min). Ask delegates to send you their quotes, ideally digitally. Collect all quotes for this round, keep them anonymous, shuffle them and then place them on the screen one at a time. As each one is shown, ask a volunteer to read it. This should not be the person who wrote it, so you could just start from one end of the class to the other to get them read the quotes. This keeps them all engaged while you go through this stage. It is best if people don’t know who wrote each quote. As each is shown, you should get them to score it, which is explained next.
3. Scoring (5 min). Use a digital poling service, like those used in lectures and seminars, to quickly get people vote for something digitally. Ask delegates to score each quote from 1 (bad) to 5 (good) for each of the three parameters: motivational, novelty and impact. You can then show the histogram results for all three parameters once everyone has scored them.
4. Showcasing Top Performers (5 min). Continue with all quotes until they are all seen and scored. At the end, use your software to get a total score for each quote (which can be between 3 and 15). Show the top five quotes with the highest score, along with their overall scores and each of the three components of the score
5. Analysing (10 min). Initiate a discussion on what makes these quotes interesting and cool. What can they learn from it? What makes a powerful quote? Offer constructive criticism on how delegates can refine their quotes in subsequent rounds. If there was a quote that scored 5 on each of the parameters (which should be extremely rare), allocate more time for its analyse.
6. Reward (1 min). After the analysis, reveal the identity of the writers of the top five quotes in this round, applaud them and give them a STAR token.

• Now move on to the next round and repeat. Now delegates are warmed up and have learned from each other so hopefully they can produce better results. Go through the five stages as before.
• Finish with the third round.
• After the third round, select top two scoring quotes and put all six quotes on the screen at the same time for all to read. If you cannot put all the text comfortably on the screen, show them in two slides. Get delegates to score again from scratch. Now that they have seen and written more quotes, the way they score can change.
• After the new scoring, show the top three quotes along with their scores.
• Reveal the identity of the writers (again) and distribute STAR tokens to each.
• Ask delegates to reveal how many STAR tokens they have got to find the winner. Congratulate them! The prize is that the winner’s quote, if they desire, can be printed and hanged on the wall for people to see (or placed on the website, or some marketing material; your choice and their choice).
• Follow with a discussion to reflect on the learning points regarding creative writing, motivation and positivity.

Timing

Explaining the Exercise: 10 minutes

Activity: 3 rounds x (6 stages for a total of 36 min) = 108 minutes (based on 8 delegates).

Group Feedback: 10 minutes

Discussion

Encourage delegates to share their thoughts on the process and how they believe it has impacted their ability to motivate and inspire others. This discussion should aim to solidify their understanding of the power of words and how to effectively use language in their personal and professional lives.

Lead a discussion focused on:

• Why certain quotes scored higher. Explore the elements that made these quotes effective, such as use of imagery, metaphor, emotional appeal and brevity.
• The creative writing techniques present in the top quotes. Analyse and discuss the creative aspects that enhanced the quotes.
• Feedback for improvement. Offer more insights on where to go from here on creative writing.

Handout

Examples of Motivational Quotes for Creative Writing

“The art of life is not in avoiding the storm, but in dancing in the rain; find joy in the struggle, for it is the essence of true strength.”

“The horizon of possibility expands at the edge of your comfort zone; embrace the unknown, for it is the canvas of your greatest masterpiece.”

“Success isn’t just about reaching the peak; it’s about embracing the climb, finding joy in the challenge and letting each step forward fuel your determination.”

“Dreams whisper to the bold and dance with the daring; to chase them is to waltz with destiny itself.”

“Focused determination is the bridge between what is and what could be; it’s the unwavering commitment to your goals that turns dreams into reality.”

“Happiness is a mosaic made of gratitude, love and purpose. Each piece doesn’t make sense alone, but together, they create a masterpiece of fulfilment.”

“Let your actions be the ink that writes the story of your life; make it a tale so captivating that the world holds its breath with every turn of the page.”

“The seeds of greatness are watered by the sweat of perseverance; grow your garden of dreams in the soil of dedication.”

“Echoes of change are born from the voices that dare to speak when silence pervades; be the echo that ripples into a tide of transformation.”

“Mountains of doubt are scaled by the steps of faith; each stride upward carves a landscape of possibility into the stone of the impossible.”

“The essence of determination lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. It’s the stubborn refusal to let failure define us.”

“Resilience is the magic that turns setbacks into comebacks. It’s knowing that every fall has the potential to lift you higher than you were before.”

“True fulfilment comes not from acquiring more, but from giving fully; the essence of joy lies in enriching the lives of others, not in the accumulation of possessions.”

“Dwell not in the shadows of past ‘what ifs’ but in the light of future ‘what can bes’; the power to shape tomorrow starts with the actions you take today.”

“The future is not a continuation of the past; it’s an opportunity to write a new story, one decision at a time. Focus on the possibilities, not the mistakes of yesterday.”

“Joy is not the result of what we get, but of what we give; the true measure of our lives is not in our wealth or status, but in the impact we have on the world around us.”

“Determination is the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’ It’s the fuel that powers dreams through the toughest times.”

“Goal setting is like drawing a map to your dreams; it turns the invisible into a path that leads to the treasure of success.”

“Following your goals is not a sprint but a marathon with hurdles; the victory lies not in speed, but in perseverance, patience and the will to keep going.”

“Positivity doesn’t just change the way you see the world; it transforms the world you see. It’s the lens that turns challenges into opportunities.”

“Motivation may start the journey, but it’s habit, discipline and love for what you do that keeps you on the path to success. Keep the flame alive with daily actions that edge you closer to your dreams.”

“Happiness is the journey we craft through acts of kindness, shared love and embraced purpose, not a destination. True fulfilment lies not in what we acquire, but in connections we create, passions we pursue and the lives we uplift.”

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