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How Minds Change
How do our beliefs and opinions change so drastically from one period of time to another?
David McRaney has uncovered and woven together the latest research across fields of psychology—research that reveals that even though it seems like real change takes generations to become visible, it can happen within a lifetime, within minutes. McRaney explores changes big and small, from gun control and marijuana legalization, to the changes we experience every day. He reveals new ways we can see and bring about change in our individual lives, at work, at home, and in our personal relationships.
Bringing an audience member up on stage during his presentation, McRaney demonstrates a "guided metacognition technique" to showcase the flexibility of human thinking.
You Are Unaware of How Unaware You Are
Being a person is hard, so every copy of the human brain comes pre-installed with a collection of self-delusions to help get you out of bed and keep you sane. Whether it's your battle with procrastination, your fanatical devotion to a particular brand or political party, or your tendency to fall for quackery, there is a lot you can learn from science about how you salve cognitive dissonance and live in the shadow of fictional personal narratives. Author of the book You Are Not So Smart, David McRaney, takes you on a tour of the cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and invisible heuristics you use every day to make sense of the world. From stories about how Benjamin Franklin turned a hater into a fan, how Bill Clinton used to wear a magical amulet, to how getting picked last can make it impossible to resist chocolate chip cookies, McRaney takes his audience through a fun and funny tour of the most interesting research in psychology in an attempt to better understand the mental stumbling blocks littered through the normal human mind. The end result, he hopes, is a shared sense of humility that can help make life better for both individuals and institutions.
David McRaney leverages his ability to change minds to consult with major brands looking to get outside their comfort zones
Based his business bestseller How Minds Change, DAVID MCRANEY is leveraging his research and experience to consult with major brands looking to get outside their comfort zones. McRaney has worked with Apple, John Deere, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, William Morris Endeavor, The Society Library, The Australian public school system, The Alliance for Decision Education, and The School of Thought, to name a few.
Through his writing, consultancy and in mind-bending and heart-opening speaking events, McRaney reveals how making assumptions holds us back, and actionable strategies for changing minds to make a bigger impact. Recent host Evanta, a Gartner Company, raved: "His content was, as expected, top-notch and received fantastically well. He was incredibly generous with his time. He also graciously gave individual attention to everyone who approached him after his keynote. Many of our attendees, sponsors, and staff mentioned to me that they felt he genuinely connected with them."
Watch David McRaney's keynote for Radboud Reflects >>
International bestseller David McRaney’s ‘How Minds Change’ continues to make an impact and receive acclaim
Delving into the latest research of psychologists and neuroscientists, DAVID MCRANEY’s How Minds Change offers a brain-bending and big-hearted investigation into the surprising science of belief, opinion, and persuasion. Adam Grant, #1 NYT bestselling author of Think Again and host of the WorkLife podcast calls it "A riveting read on the art and science of persuasion. David McRaney's brilliant book will force you to rethink your views about how to motivate other people to rethink theirs. In a time when too many minds seem closed, this is a masterful analysis of what it takes to open them."
McRaney’s book “provides a surprising glimpse into why changing human minds is so damn hard... but also the good news that it can in fact be possible with the right strategies," according to Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology at Yale University, and host of The Happiness Lab podcast. His presentations feature an interactive component in which he brings a guest onstage to have a conversation using the guided metacognition techniques from his book, which audiences love. McRaney has been featured in The British Psychological Society’s ‘The Psychologist’, Next Big Idea Club, Big Think, Bloomberg’s Masters in Business podcast, Fast Company, Wired, and more.
Watch David McRaney at Stanford’s d.school >>
Watch David McRaney on ABC News >>
David McRaney’s acclaimed book ‘How Minds Change’ is selected as the University of Wisconsin’s 2023-24 Go Big Read book
Globally bestselling author DAVID MCRANEY is a thought leader and expert in the psychology of reading. His book, How Minds Change, has made waves among business leaders, political activists, and everyone looking to truly change minds and make a difference. Previously appearing on McKinsey's & Co's summer reading guide, How Minds Change has been selected as the University of Wisconsin’s 2023-24 Go Big Read book. The series will include a revelatory talk with McRaney and is intended to foster a sense of engagement between the campus community and beyond, while promoting an intellectually-oriented shared reading experience.
UW’s Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin celebrated the selection, “This timely book gives us all an opportunity to challenge our own beliefs and assumptions, and to recognize the importance of empathetic listening,” adding: “McRaney invites us not only to think about how others think, but to think about our own thinking too.”
Watch David McRaney's keynote for Radboud Reflects >>
Watch David McRaney on ABC News >>
David McRaney is an expert on changing our thinking in his new book How Minds Change
Internationally bestselling author DAVID MCRANEY is an expert in the psychology of reasoning, and he explores the science – and the experience – of transformation in his new book, How Minds Change. McRaney's new book is a business must-read, earning a spot on consulting company McKinsey's & Co's summer reading guide. His previous books You Are Not So Smart and You Are Now Less Dumb have become international bestsellers, cementing his position as a thought leader. Told with McRaney’s trademark sense of humor, compassion, and scientific curiosity, How Minds Change an eye-opening journey among cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists, ultimately challenging us to question our own motives and beliefs. Delving into the latest research of psychologists and neuroscientists, McRaney offers a brain-bending and big-hearted investigation into the surprising science of belief, opinion, and persuasion.
The renowned reasoning expert and podcaster leaves us with a powerful question to consider as we face a misinformation epidemic and increasing polarization: can we rise to the occasion with empathy? Mastercard Senior VP, Mimi Alemayehou, says McRaney has the answer: "Worried that paranoia, irrationality, and intransigence are destroying civilization? Fear not. Believes on deeply held, hot-button issues can be changed, often with astonishing speed. McRaney's deft storytelling explains how." McRaney reveals new ways we can see and bring about change in our individual lives, at work, at home, and in our personal relationships in thought-provoking writing, keynotes, and conversations.
Read The Guardian's rave review >>
David McRaney is a science journalist, lecturer, author, fascinated with brains, minds, and culture.
He created the blog/book/podcast You Are Not So Smart to get a better understanding of self-delusion and motivated reasoning, but he did a lot of other things before that: construction, selling leather coats, he even owned two pet stores for a few years.
He started the blog in 2009, and it became an internationally bestselling book shortly after, now available in 17 languages. It then became a podcast that was once part of Boing Boing, one of the internet's first independent magazines. Today on that podcast he continues to interview scientists who study the psychology of reasoning, decision-making, and judgment.
His second book, You Are Now Less Dumb, was released in 2013, and his third book, How Minds Change was released in 2022 to worldwide acclaim. He just wrapped up a five-city book tour in the Netherlands and continues to give lectures month to month around the world about how people do and do not change their minds, the intricacies and nuances of persuasion, and how to safeguard yourself and your institution from the pitfalls of motivated reasoning.
In his early days, he cut his teeth as a newspaper reporter covering Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and in the Pine Belt region of the Deep South. Later, he covered things like who tests rockets for NASA, what it is like to run a halfway home for homeless people who are HIV-positive, and how a family sent their kids to college by making and selling knives.
Since then, he has been an editor, photographer, voiceover artist, television host, journalism teacher, lecturer, and tornado survivor. He also worked for several years as the head of digital media for WDAM-TV where he produced The Green Couch Sessions, a TV show about the music of the Deep South. He's also done some commercial work. He has written for Heineken, Duck Tape, and a few others, and recently appeared in a Reebok ad he also helped write.
After finishing How Minds Change, he wrote, produced, and recorded a six-hour audio documentary exploring the history of the idea and the word – genius – which is the subject of his next book.
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