10 More Unmissable Nudgestock Talks
Another round of must-see talks from the world's premier behavioural science and creativity festival.
Nudgestock is the world’s premier festival of behavioural science and creativity.
It began in 2013 and has hosted many remarkable speakers over the past decade, including Nassim Taleb, Tim Harford, Laurie Santos, Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, and Tali Sharot.
We’re such big fans of the event that we’ve sponsored it for several years.
Yes, it really is that good.
The annual festival, curated by Ogilvy Consulting, features a wonderfully eclectic mix of talks from leading thinkers and practitioners in behavioural science, marketing and creativity.
For those who have not attended this fantastic event, we’ve selected ten more must-see talks from the last ten years to whet your appetite.
You can learn more about Nudgestock via their website by following their X handle @nudgestock or checking out their YouTube channel, which has a fantastic back catalogue of all previous Nudgestock talks.
1. John Cleese ‘How To Become More Creative’ (2021)
John Cleese is one of the founding members of the comedy group ‘Monty Python’ and is famous for films such as ‘The Search for the Holy Grail’ and ‘The Life of Brian’.
If you haven’t seen either of these films, stop what you’re doing now and watch one.
He’s also the author of the excellent little book Creativity: A Short And Cheerful Guide, which outlines his fundamental beliefs about creativity.
In this talk, Cleese discusses the creative process and touches on various topics, including the difference between ‘Maker Time’ and ‘Manager Time’, how the Renaissance art historian Bernard Berenson could spot a fake if he felt ill after viewing it and why open plan offices are a disaster for creativity.
Watch it through, as there’s an animated discussion with Rory Sutherland towards the end.
Three takeaways from John’s talk:
1. The mind needs time away from creative problems to solve them. In other words, you must allow time for subconscious processing.
2. Creativity follows a process with clearly defined stages, i. Preparation ii. Incubation iii. Inspiration
3. Play is essential to being creative, and children are exemplars of this.
2. Dave Trott ‘Complexity Kills Creativity’ (2016)
Dave Trott is renowned for his nonsense approach and is one of the most respected figures in the UK advertising industry.
Dave’s talent comes from his ability to simplify complex messages into concise, compelling narratives that connect with the audience.
His creative genius has earned him numerous awards and accolades, and many advertising and marketing professionals read his long-running blog.
In addition to his successful ad career, Dave Trott is an author and public speaker.
His books, including Creative Mischief and Predatory Thinking, have received widespread acclaim for their insights into creativity and problem-solving.
Unsurprisingly, his talk focuses on his favourite topic: why simplicity matters regarding effective communication.
Dave muses on a host of topics, including how 89% of UK advertising is wasted, why form must follow function when it comes to effective advertising, how checklists are a vital tool for combating simple mistakes made by clever people, and how creativity is the last legal unfair advantage in business.
Oh, and why do ice cream trucks in the UK still play a song rumoured to have been composed by Henry VIII in 1530?
It’s a talk that is worth watching repeatedly to remind yourself that it is always better to take something away than to add it.
Three takeaways from Dave’s talk:
1. Smart people think complicated things are clever; brilliant people know you have to go beyond complicated to simple
2. If you can’t get someone’s attention, you've failed at the first hurdle.
3. Distinctiveness matters because the human brain is designed to spot different things.
3. Peter McGraw ‘Lessons In Creativity & Execution From Comedy’s Rebels’ (2020)
Peter McGraw is a marketing and psychology professor at the Leeds School of Business and the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder.
He teaches a PhD seminar in behavioural economics and other courses in marketing for the University of Colorado Boulder.
Peter hosts the ‘I'm Not Joking’ podcast, which talks about the intersection of humour and behavioural science and is a co-creator of the Benign Violation Theory.
More than a million people have watched his TEDx talk, What makes things funny?
His brilliant talk explains this theory with examples and shows how we can learn a lot from comedians when generating ideas.
Three takeaways from Peter’s talk:
1. The Reversal Technique
Peter explains the comedic technique of reversal, in which the expected outcome is inverted to surprise the audience. This technique can be applied in business to challenge the status quo and find innovative solutions.
E.g. The Light Phone 2, a ‘Dumb Phone’ that eschews smart features, succeeded by thinking in reverse.
2. Turn Bugs into Features
McGraw discusses how comedians turn their flaws into strengths, creating relatability and humour. Businesses can adopt this strategy to differentiate themselves.
E.g. Buckley's cough syrup embraced its awful taste in a marketing campaign, which led to its success.
3. Shitstorming
McGraw suggests a brainstorming technique in which participants deliberately generate bad ideas. This can break the ice and occasionally result in surprisingly good ideas.
4. Robert Frank ‘The Mother Of All Cognitive Errors’ (2019)
Robert Frank is a distinguished economist and author known for his insightful contributions to behavioural economics and public policy.
Throughout his career, Frank has held academic positions at renowned institutions such as Cornell University, where he is currently the Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Economics.
His teaching and research have profoundly impacted the field of economics, particularly in behavioural economics, microeconomics, and the role of social contexts in decision-making.
One of Robert Frank's notable contributions to economics is his exploration of the concept of ‘rational behaviour’ and the limits of rationality in economic decision-making.
His work challenges traditional economic models that assume individuals always act in their best self-interest, highlighting the role of emotions, social influences, and psychological biases in shaping economic choices.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Frank is a prolific author. His books, including The Economic Naturalist, The Darwin Economy, and Success and Luck, have garnered critical acclaim for their accessible yet thought-provoking exploration of economic concepts.
Three takeaways from Robert’s talk:
1. Since World War II, top marginal tax rates have significantly decreased. This decline contributes to the challenge of generating sufficient revenue for public investments.
2. People fear losing private buying power more than they value public investments. This bias discourages support for necessary tax policies.
3. Overcoming the illusion that higher taxes are detrimental to personal wealth is crucial for generating the revenue needed to address climate change and other societal challenges.
5. Keith Dear ‘How Feeling Watched Can Change Behaviour?’
Keith is the Managing Director of Fujitsu's Centre for Cognitive and Advanced Technologies, dedicated to revolutionising decision-making and scaling and speeding the adoption of emerging technology.
He previously served as an Expert Advisor to the UK Prime Minister on Defence modernisation and the Integrated Review, leading the UK space strategy in No 10 and advising on national strategies on emerging technology.
A former 18-year Intelligence Officer in the RAF, he has served in Iraq, completed three deployments to Afghanistan, deployed to Abkhazia (Georgia) with the United Nations, to Mali alongside the French, and served on exchange with the US Air Force in Las Vegas.
He holds a doctorate in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, an MA (with Distinction) in Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism from King's College London, and a BA (Hons) in History, Politics and International Relations from the University of Lancaster.
Three takeaways from Keith’s talk:
1. Numerous studies demonstrate that images of eyes can significantly influence behaviour. For instance, donations increased by 55% in an economic game when a picture of eyes was present.
2. Humans have evolved to pay attention to eyes due to their importance in detecting predators and social cues. This sensitivity is deeply rooted in biology and helps us understand emotions and intentions.
3. Experiments at Newcastle University and elsewhere show that pictures of eyes can reduce crime and antisocial behaviour in various settings, including coffee bars and bike sheds.
6. Caroline Webb ‘Nudge Thyself’ (2018)
Caroline Webb is an executive coach, author and speaker.
She is known as one of the world’s leading experts on using insights from behavioural science to improve professional life and has a bestselling book on that topic, How To Have a Good Day.
Her talk describes a day at work that went horribly wrong.
It's the kind of day where you’re late for a time management workshop you're meant to be giving to a group of German clients you’ve never met.
Using the below three biases, she shows you how to use behavioural science to boost your productivity and well-being.
1. Confirmation bias
Your brain directs attention to what’s already at the top of your mind. Your expectations shape what you perceive—a chance to shape your reality. If you set out with the intention of having a good day, then your brain will look for opportunities to confirm that belief.
2. Uncertainty aversion
When your brain feels threatened, it launches the fight-or-flight response. You become more stupid, and you can’t think straight.
To reduce this feeling, boost your sense of competence and control: “What do I know for sure?” “What can I shape or control?” And “What are some ‘No regrets’ actions?”
3. Peak-end effect
We tend to remember the most intense moment and how it ends. Use this knowledge to hack your future memories and remember things more positively.
Three takeaways from Caroline’s talk:
1. Your brain directs your attention to things that match what’s already at the top of your mind: your aims, attitude, and assumptions.
2. In one study with a group of Harvard radiologists, 83% of them failed to notice a picture of a gorilla randomly inserted in a collection of lung scans.
3. To reset your perception filters, ask yourself: What aim, attitude, and assumptions do I want to keep at the top of my mind?
7. Kelly Peters ‘Corporate Sedition & Challenging The Status Quo’ (2014)
Kelly Peters is a prominent behavioural economist and the CEO of BEworks, a leading behavioural economics consultancy firm.
Peters has significantly contributed to the field by passionately applying psychology and behavioural science insights to real-world challenges.
Her talk is about understanding why many tools we use to make key business decisions aren’t good enough.
E.g.
Focus groups - individuals can have a disproportionate impact and steer the outcome in a specific direction.
Customer Metrics - suffer from the ‘Say vs Do’ gap. In other words, we are not very accurate when self-reporting our behaviour. What we say we do is often very different from what we actually do.
Case Studies - Suffer from selection and survivorship bias, so offer limited insights.
Big Data - Often overhyped and relies on past behaviour, neglecting present manipulation and correlation-causation issues.
Three takeaways from Kelly’s talk:
1. The desire to maintain a positive image of ourselves can be leveraged e.g. people signing car insurance docs at the top of the form versus at the end being more honest about their declared annual mileage
2. Context matters as the power of framing illustrates e.g. the famous The Economist subscription study.
3. Simple nudges can make a big difference. A retailer overcame a debt collection challenge by making some shuttle changes to the call script, e.g., changing this is an ‘important’ call to this is an ‘urgent’ call, using the COO's voice on the recording, and making them pledge to pay by pressing a number on their telephone keypad.
8. Jennie Sallows ‘Gandhi, The Watch and The Little Black Dress’ (2016)
Jennie is Head of Insight at Kinetic, a company that buys and sells outdoor posters.
Jennie entertainingly demonstrates the power of framing and anchoring on our sense of value.
For example, in the 1970s, an experiment was conducted where people were asked ‘Was Gandhi older or younger than 9 years old when he died?”. Another group of people were asked ‘Was Gandhi older or younger than 144 years old when he died?”
They were then asked, “How old was Gandhi when he died?”
In the first group, the average response was “in his fifties”. With the second group, it was “in his eighties.”
The ad agency Saatchi carried out a similar experiment in the 1980s with an advert for a little black dress.
They discovered that respondents valued the same dress at twice the price when it appeared in Vogue magazine rather than in Women’s Weekly.
Jennie’s team decided to try something similar with a fictitious watch brand.
They placed the same ad in two locations: a well-known spot in the city centre and a nondescript high street.
They then asked passersby, “How much do you think the watch is worth?”
The first set of respondents valued the watch at £1,214, and the second set valued it at only £757.
Three takeaways from Jennie’s talk:
1. People estimate numbers based on the initial anchor
2. Value is relative, not absolute. We calculate something’s value based on how it compares to other things.
3. OOH as a medium works in part because it imprints on people’s minds without them realising it.
9. Michele Gelfand ‘The Secret Life of Social Norms’ (2021)
Michele Gelfand is a distinguished psychologist and professor known for her cultural psychology and cross-cultural research expertise.
Gelfand is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she also directs the Culture Lab.
Her research focuses on understanding how culture influences human behaviour, particularly in negotiation, conflict, and cooperation. She has conducted extensive cross-cultural studies, examining the impact of cultural norms, values, and practices on individuals and societies.
Michele discusses the clash between loose and tight cultures and how we can use this to understand each other better.
This explains why Germans wait for the pedestrian lights to turn green before crossing the street, but British people will happily do so if they spot a gap in the traffic.
Cultural tightness and looseness are not random and can be traced back to historical and environmental threats.
Three takeaways from Michele’s talk:
1. Whilst we can switch between a tight and loose mindset, we tend to have a default.
2. Understanding the difference between tight and loose cultures can help leaders. The best outcomes are found in cultures that balance tightness and looseness.
3. Extremes in either direction lead to higher rates of depression, suicide, and lower happiness.
10. Laurie Santos ‘Psychology & The Good Life’ (2020)
Laurie Santos is a prominent psychologist and professor at Yale University. Her research focuses on human cognition, decision-making, and well-being.
She gained global recognition for her online course, ‘The Science of Well-Being,’ which attracted millions of participants and is the most popular class in Yale’s history.
Santos is known for her engaging teaching style and has received awards for her excellence in teaching.
In her talk, she asks what makes happy people happy. What do they do? How much money do they make? And how can we use positive psychology to nudge ourselves towards happiness?
Three takeaways from Laurie’s talk:
1. Our intuitions about what makes us happy are often wrong. Money, for instance, has diminishing returns on happiness after a certain point. Materialism negatively correlates with happiness.
2. Practising gratitude, such as listing things you’re thankful for or writing gratitude letters, can enhance happiness. Gratitude visits, where you thank someone in person, have lasting positive effects.
3. Prioritising time over money enhances happiness. Feeling wealthy in terms of time, rather than material wealth, contributes more to overall well-being. Making time-saving purchases and valuing leisure can boost happiness.
Enjoyed this post. Why not try our updated and FREE ‘The best of Nudgestock’ course, which contains over 40 of the best talks and lessons from the past decade?
