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Yesterday we had a masterclass. It went on for 3 hours. 3 hours. But it felt like 30 minutes. The masterclass was from Rory Sutherland. All makes sense now.

I knew it was going to be good. After watching a number of his talks online I knew we were in for an insightful, what was supposed to be, hour. I couldn’t write quick enough as he spewed out gold dust as if it were just passing comment.

He didn’t show a single ad. Instead he talked about problems, and the ways we can tackle them without approaching a mac. He spoke about normal, real problems. It was a breath of fresh air, albeit a little overwhelming. His encyclopedic knowledge that led from one anecdote to the next was incredible. If I were ever to build a pub quiz team he’d be first on my wishlist.

Here are some notes I did manage to make:

• ●  Design so persuasion isn’t needed. In other words, make people behave in a way because acting otherwise would be stupid. For example, making door handles and flat plates that signal whether it’s pull or push.
• ●  Create something worthwhile and market it with value.
• ●  Find something (piece of tech maybe) and make it valuable to people. Opposed to always finding a

  problem and trying to fix it.

• ●  Context in which we compare things affects what we think of it. (!!!!!)
• ●  The brain hates uncertainty. People are much happier to wait longer if they know how long they’ll be

  waiting, opposed to waiting without a clue. For example, train and plane information boards.

• ●  Ask WHY 5 times.
• ●  People say they like wine more than they do . Culture is designed to drink wine. Wine glasses are already

  laid out at restaurants. You’re given a wine list when you sit down. It’s the communal drink – ‘red or white?’

• ●  Pizza is a good choice for a group because nobody dislikes it. Vs curry for example.
• ●  Ask stupid questions. Why do people go to the doctor? Why do people hate standing on trains? Why do

  you have to wash the Lincoln Memorial so frequently?

• ●  Argos would have been more successful if they had been ‘Japanese zen’ branded.
• ●  Insights about queues:
  • ○  Disney is the master, giving minute by minute countdowns to the end.
  • ○  Being able to see the end of the queue makes it less painful.
  • ○  Take away the person behind you and it all becomes less stressful.
  • ○  Much more enjoyable if it’s constantly moving, vs stop starting.
  • ○  Quickest way to annoy people in a queue is to have a faster moving queue next to them.
• ●  Flowers are weeds with an advertising budget.

  There were more but these seem to be the most cohesive scribbles. Thank you thank you thank you.