Worrying about what other people may think can seriously inhibit creativity. Our society teaches us to conform to accepted ways of behaving, but changing this behaviour can help you break out of other constraints in terms of the way you think. (Just don’t put in a request to have the walls of your office padded first!)
The fear of appearing foolish can also keep you from sharing what on the surface might seem like a daft idea because you think someone may laugh or ridicule you. This fear can restrict the flow of ideas and although many ideas may at first appear impractical or just plain weird, many such thoughts can be developed or trigger other ideas with genuine potential.
Laugh. Laugh a lot. Then laugh some more. Humour is often indicative of creativity and most humour ‘works’ because it looks at situations in life from a different perspective from the norm. So rather than stifle raucous laughter in the office, encourage it, especially in creative thinking sessions. It makes work a more fun place to be too!