Schedule

This workshop will transform you into a behavior change genius. Yes, I know that sounds unrealistic, but I believe it's absolutely true. If you pay attention and engage in our activities, you will gain the skills and insight to rank among the Top 1% (genius status) when designing for behavioral results.

[Academics, please skip the next paragraph. In your profession complexity is good. So skip ahead, okay?]

Human nature is not so complicated. You can read hundreds of academic papers, and the inquiry you'll find is fascinating. But in reality just a handful of human factors guide our behaviors. And you can learn these factors in one day. That's good news for designers. Step by step, I'll clarify human nature in a way that's both accurate (true to science) and actionable (useful in your work).

Case in point: We humans are lazy. To account for this reality, a few years ago I mapped out the six elements of simplicity. I'll teach these elements to you. And with this new insight, you can pinpoint why many designs fail to achieve results. It's taken me a decade to accept the reality (I'm a bit slow at times) that simplicity matters more than motivation when it comes to influencing people. You'll see this clearly in our workshop. Together we'll get hands-on, trading off simplicity against motivation in competing designs. You'll understand why simplicity wins.

Next case in point: Information. Except for Spock, we humanoids are not very logical. We pretend to be rational, but c'mon: Farmville? Lady Gaga? George Bush's second term? (even his first one!) . . . are any of those things rational? Of course not. So let's downgrade the "info matters" meme and ramp up on what really changes people. And that would be "hot triggers."

New technology gives us new ways to deliver hot triggers. And that's what all the industry fighting is about right now: Zynga sues Facebook; Google freaks at iAds; Amazon claims to own the social network patent. All this drama is about who will have the power to deliver hot triggers in the future Because that's what changes behavior. And that's what creates value. Of course, in this workshop I'll unveil the power of hot triggers.

Final case in point: Habits. Daily habits. Ah, now that's the holy grail. In fact, I changed my entire Stanford teaching plan to create a new course about habit formation -- how technology can create this most powerful of all behaviors. I'll share the best stuff from my class. You'll learn what it takes to create a habit in yourself, your dog, or a customer. (Okay, let me back up: Our focus in this workshop is commercial, but what you learn will help you personally. And make your dog better too.)

Like I said, we humans aren't really so complicated. Until now, no one has explained human nature clearly. And no one has mapped those insights onto the emerging opportunities in technology. So that's what my workshop is all about.

I'm sharing my best insights, my best learning activities, at the best UX event of the summer. See you there!