At the Createry, we have a variety of different card decks – oracles, affirmations, quotes, famous figures, and more – in a whole bunch of themes and styles.
Located on the coworking floor, you can borrow them for your own use any time. Even if you’ve never considered cards before, or don’t see yourself as a manifestation type, they’re still worth a browse to see if anything calls to you.
They’re great ice breakers, prompt meaningful conversations, and can inspire you and your followers when you need some content ideas.
They can be used in endless different ways in your services and marketing; the only limit is your imagination! To get you started, here are some ideas.
1. 3 or 5 card draw
This can be done one-to-one or in a small group. Simply shuffle the cards and draw out 3 or 5 one by one, talking through each with the participant. Depending on the card deck you choose, you could be drawing cards that reflect current struggles or goals, or future challenges and aspirations. Each deck includes a leaflet to explain the meaning of each card, or you can take it in your own direction for a coaching session.
Alternatively, you could ask the participant what comes to mind for them with each card, and use it as a starting point for opening up or focusing on specific areas or sticking points relevant to them.
Extend the session or provide additional downloads or “homework” by creating a worksheet with questions or journalling options for each card.
2. Use for content on lives
Pre-pick your cards or throw caution to the wind and draw at random to form prompts for your discussions. They add an interesting visual to your video and ensure a less scripted feel as you’re working from an image rather than word-based prompts or notes. You could set a core topic, such as social media or work-life balance, and use the cards to relate to that.
3. In group sessions
Give (or assign, if you’re hosting virtually) a card to each member of your group and ask them to spend a couple of minutes thinking about how it relates to them (or doesn’t!), then go around the group.
Alternatively, you could use each card as a way to contribute to a collective discussion, for example ideas around goal setting or lifestyle optimisation.
This works really well as an icebreaker to introduce a group session, as an activity to break up a session, or to speed up brainstorming or retrospective sessions.
4. Use for your own content prompts
Stuck for ideas for blog posts, social media, or newsletters? A card or three card pull could be just what you need. Take it a step further by using sticky notes to map out your channels or days of the week, and draw a card for each.
5. Assign a card to a client for “homework”
A card plus a task is a quick and easy way to get people thinking. They could journal their thoughts, create a diagram or plan, doodle their emotions, or brainstorm ways to bypass challenges or use their strengths for progression.
6. Pair people up
For group sessions, give people a card each and ask them to pair up with one or two other people to find new insights from combining their cards. This task could be combined with a specific topic to keep things focused. Once they’ve had a chance to talk things through, have them show and share what they’ve discussed/decided on with the rest of the group.
At the end of the session, you could display the different sets of cards in rows for Instagram-worthy content.
7. Use on social media
A card that fits your brand and messaging makes a perfect prop in your photos, either as a hero or supplementary prop to add personality and insight into how you work. Take a look at our blog post, Flat Lay Photo Ideas For Service Providers, for more information and ideas.
You could even showcase cards in brand photography or videography shoots to highlight different ways you work with clients, or to add a different dynamic to your visuals. Or take it even further by creating your own personalised decks printed to supplement your work, and gift or sell them.
I hope you found these ideas for using card decks useful and please tag us if you use any of the ones at the Createry – we’d love to see what you do with them!