As a result of the work by the Nobel prizewinner Professor Roger Sperry, the theory of right and left sides of the brain was advanced, in which major intellectual functions were split between different parts of the brain. On the left side, it was believed, were the logical, rational and controlling aspects to our thinking, while the right side was said to control our inspirational and creative thoughts. It was argued that different people’s skills were linked to the different hemispheres of the brain dominating an individual’s performance. More creative people were seemingly right-side dominated; others who were more analytical but less creative were described as left-side dominated.

However, left-brain/right-brain theory has since been under- mined by research that shows mental skills being distributed throughout the brain. Both sides of the brain are activated, no matter what task you put to them. What is important in developing our skills as creative public relations practitioners is not so much where specific thinking skills are located in the brain but the fact that at least two specific modes of thought can be identified.

Convergent thinking, the so-called left-sided thinking, is the intellectual ability to logically evaluate, criticize and choose the best idea from a selection of ideas. Divergent thinking, the apparent right-sided thinking, is the ability of the intellect to think of many original, diverse and elaborate ideas. These contrasting thinking approaches are embodied in the two lead characters in the science fiction television classic, Star Trek. Mr Spock was the cool, analytical character, where everything was rationally observed and logically thought through; Captain Kirk, in contrast, was seen to employ more emotional, intuitive thinking, and being inspirational in his tackling of problems.

Green Light/Red Light thinking

A better way of looking at creative thinking than left/right brain is Green Light/Red Light thinking, with its stronger visual cues. For Green Light thinking, the colour, like that in a traffic light, is useful for symbolizing that anything can go, where the accent is on posi- tively encouraging as many ideas as possible, whatever their status or validity. This equates with Captain Kirk (or what has been called right-hand brain thinking). Red Light thinking is sober analysis of what will or will not work, the rational judgement of an idea, equivalent to Mr Spock (and left-hand brain thinking). It is the ‘Stop’ sign for any idea that appears ludicrous or far-fetched – the rational mode of thinking for evaluating the relative merits of a proposal. Table 2.1 highlights the different characteristics of these two modes of thinking.

By having a clear understanding of the distinction between the two types of thinking, a practitioner can make far more productive use of time, and employ techniques to greater effect, generating more and varied creative ideas that offer added value.