How to change when change matters.
(And how to help others change, too.)

Humans teamed up and took over planet Earth because we were willing and able to change. 

And yet when left on its own, the human brain would rather coast in neutral. Consume, scroll, and keep doing things how they’ve been done. 

For those of us who don’t want to get stuck—for those who see the urgency of the present moment—the question becomes: How do we change when change is tough?

Or more importantly: How do we get others to change when the clock is ticking?

Since the 1950s, business leaders have been preaching the same things about how to motivate people, “nudge” employees, and “manage change.” The problem is the common wisdom on change management doesn’t work on everyone. So much of it is based on anecdote, tradition, disproven science, or specific personality types within a specific context. (Read: power-hungry men in power suits.)

Otherwise it would work better.

So what is the actual, universal science of change? 

What are the myths that hold us back from helping people to change?

In The Science of Change, science journalist and award-winning producer Shane Snow brings us through the history of human change—and resistance to it—from ancient Polynesian navigators to whipsawing cult leaders, from 300-year-strong corporations to democratic pirate colonies. Throughout these stories, he breaks down the myths that hold us back from change in the modern era—from The Lizard Brain to Willpower Depletion to “21 Day Habits”. He lays out the fundamental science of changing our minds—from the wisdom that hasn’t changed since the ancients to what cutting edge science has taught us literally in the last 2 years. (One of those studies is Shane’s own: the largest study in history of how people change their minds—and why they don’t.)

In this keynote, you’ll learn the science of Fear Extinction, and what we can learn about everyday change from people who get over terrible phobias; the psychological phenomenon called The Overview Effect that astronauts experience when they leave the Earth and come home transformed; and how Narrative Reframing, Ego Separation, and Superordinate Goals help people change when change feels impossible. 

It all comes together in one fundamental truth built into the wiring of the human brain: We are all storytellers. And the rest of your story is yet to be written.

In this keynote, you will learn: