Business contexts are constantly marked by a hunger for authenticity. After all, who doesn’t appreciate an authentic peer or buyer-seller relationship? But it’s not all so clear, scientifically, what it means for someone to be perceived as authentic. Are you more authentic when you give someone a piece of your mind because you value being yourself or when you’re choosing not to say what’s on your mind because you value kindness and politeness?

There is a debate in the science of authenticity: on one hand, authenticity can be acting in informal, non-conformist ways, but on the other, it can be acting in formal, socially desirable ways. To settle the debate, Dr. Carmen Simon, Chief Science Officer at Corporate Visions and founder of Enhancive, shares her latest neuroscience research on how audiences perceive authenticity (especially in virtual contexts) and what makes them trust, engage, and remember you. 

During this session, you will learn practical guidelines related to:

• Which content medium do audiences appreciate more: formal slides, informal hand drawings, or something in between?
• Which clothing style has a stronger impact: informal, business casual, or formal attire? Should you keep your gym clothes during a virtual meeting, or is it necessary to put on a shirt and jacket?
• What language is most effective? Formal language, free of any style and personality, or informal language, marked by temperament and even cursing? Could influence have an indecent side?

 
Join this session to uncover science-backed answers to the authenticity dilemma—and learn how to strategically balance realness and refinement for maximum impact.

Dr. Carmen Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, Chief Science Officer at Corporate Visions, and founder of Enhancive, an agency that helps customers create memorable communication based on how the brain works. Her most popular books on customers’ attention and memory are called Impossible to Ignore and Made You Look.

Dr. Simon also teaches several courses at Stanford University on how to create messages on memory and decision science. After all, what’s the use of memory if people do nothing with it?