We all have a simulator that we use every day to predict how others will react to us — our brain. This simulator works amazingly well. It lets us construct a joke that other people will laugh at, paint a picture that others will marvel at, and write a sales pitch to get people to

It’s not a stretch to take our most primal information technology, the story, and use it to help people. A story is powerful, whether around a campfire, in a viral video, or snuggled up next to someone you love. It’s a way to share knowledge, understand problems, process information, and even encourage healthy behavior change.

You probably already know that persuading someone has little to do with what you say and much to do with how you say it. But persuasive communication is more than thoughtful word choice and emotional storytelling. One of your most persuasive tools isn’t thoughtful at all. Enjoy the rest of the article in its entirety on

Your team has painstakingly developed something that will help a lot of people. You’ve researched, designed, tested, and produced it. Then you launch. And…crickets. People aren’t trying it. And if they do, they aren’t sticking with it. Your heart sinks. The team is frustrated. The CEO is mad. Why!!!??? Why aren’t people doing something that

Curated Resources for Further Study in Behavior Design, Action Design

“Humility and design go hand-in-hand; it’s just in the nature of design.” – Austin Knight, Google Designer 1 You probably think you can beat a kindergartener at just about anything. Half-court basketball? No doubt. Historical trivia? Sure thing. Barbecue cook-off? Fuhgeddaboudit. How about building the highest spaghetti tower that can hold up a marshmallow? Well,

“It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own. You can’t clear your own fields while you’re counting the rocks on your neighbor’s farm.” – Cicero When we lose a hand at poker, it’s bad luck, but when we finally win the pot with a

If there is one truth about behavior change – it’s that you’re going to screw up. You’re supposed to screw up. That’s how you gain experience and figure out what works.

However very few behavior change products design for ‘failure’. And when they do, they don’t do a very good job at it.

When you’re Behavior Designing a program, make sure you consider (and test) all the available communication channels.

Despite the hype, new years is the worst time of year to be making big behavior changes. Here’s why.