If you prompt someone to generate an idea of their own, offering an example is tempting.

But don’t.

Examples offer a way forward. They supply a viable solution. But they can also create an anchor. That is, the example becomes a kind of home base: “What can I think of that rhymes with the example?”

During the quiet moment when you ask someone to think of something, and they don’t respond … just sit with that moment. Hold that tension. Allow ideas to form. Encourage them to form.

But hesitate to give the example in your mind. Voicing the example shrinks the world of possibilities to a mere window of possibilities.

Instead, let the idea generation happen, even if it takes time. Even if the thinking portion is painfully awkward.

Let the process unfold. You might be surprised by the potential discovery.