The Internal Comms Podcast
Episode 19 – The appliance of neuroscience
Katie Macaulay’s guest this week is a neuroscientist with extensive experience in the field of organisational change.
Hilary Scarlett began studying the brain in 2009 after reading an inspiring article about how this relatively new discipline can be used to help organisations better understand and guide their people through change.
She went on to write a book – Neuroscience for Organizational Change – in which she explains what happens inside our brains when change is announced, and the change process begins. Her fascinating insight explains why people think and behave the way they do, enabling internal communicators to design change programmes that work with our brains rather than against them.
During the course of their conversation, Katie and Hilary address a number of perennial IC questions, like when and how to communicate difficult news and the role of leaders during change. They also address some more personal concerns, such as the difference between having a fixed and a growth mindset, why most neuroscientists practise mindfulness, and what’s happening inside our brains when we tick something off our to-do list.
To find out more about international communications and AB’s work, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, AB Thinks.
Jump to
What is neuroscience? [02:30]
What sparked Hilary’s interest in the discipline? [04:48]
Yeah, this is useful: Hilary’s first use of neuroscience in an IC context [06:21]
Hopeless prediction machines: how our brains crave certainty [09:37]
Give bad news up front: neurological research shows our brains hate being in limbo [11:21]
Communicate now or later: tackling a classic IC dilemma [16:25]
First impressions: why we remember ill-judged or negative comments [20:06]
The more we see a face, the more we like that person: what neuroscience tells us about the importance of face-to-face communication [23:55]
Let people say how they feel: how saying something negative aloud lessens its impact at a neural level [28:30]
Triggering the reward system: the role dopamine plays in engagement [29:54]
Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? And can you change? [32:23]
How do we do more of this? What every organisation needs to think [42:10]
Be in the moment: using mindfulness in the workplace [45:01]
Assessing the impact of mobile phones and social media on our brains [49:55]
Exploring the SPACES framework [53:40]
What would Scarlett have done differently in her career, knowing what she knows now about the brain [59:28]
What would surprise most people about you? [1:02:22]
What would you say to a younger version of yourself? [1:04:53]
What would you do tomorrow if you knew you could not fail? [1:05:49]
Who is the best communicator, living or dead? [1:07:36]
What phrase would you put on a billboard? [1:09:05]
Links from this episode
Connect with Hilary on Twitter and LinkedIn
Find out more about her company Scarlett and Grey
Read Hilary’s book Neuroscience for Organizational Change: An Evidence-based Practical Guide to Managing Change
Download Sam Harris’s app Waking Up
Watch Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Further reading:
Social: Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect by Matthew Lieberman
Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential by Dr Carol Dweck
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant
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This week, Katie meets Claire Hyde and Louise Wadman, joint heads of IC at KPMG UK. Possibly the most senior IC job share in the country, Claire and Louise have more than 45 years...
Episode 14 – How to start a movement
September 24, 2019
Katie’s guest this episode is Nita Clarke – whose services to employee engagement have earned her an OBE from the Queen. Nita has a long and fascinating career. She co-authore...
Episode 13 – A check-up with the IC doctor
September 11, 2019
The Internal Comms Podcast is back with a new series of fortnightly conversations with leading lights from the world of internal communications, engagement and leadership. AB Mana...
Season 02 Trailer
September 6, 2019
Season two of The Internal Comms Podcast is almost here!
Episode 12 – Listen and learn: insights from 30 years in IC
July 24, 2019
In this extra special bonus episode of The Internal Comms Podcast, the tables are turned on Katie as she takes the spotlight as an interviewee. Posing the searching questions is J...
Episode 11 – Putting the soul back into Patisserie Valerie
June 25, 2019
For this special bonus episode of The IC Podcast, Katie interviewed Paolo Peretti, Managing Retail Director of Patisserie Valerie, in front of a live audience at AB Thinks Live, ou...
Episode 10 – Internal comms at the sharp end - recorded at IoIC live
May 21, 2019
For the final episode of season one, Katie Macaulay travels to Bath for IoIC Live and interviews two of the conference’s speakers, Martin Fitzpatrick and Matt Batten. Both Marti...
Episode 09 – How to win colleagues and influence people
May 7, 2019
Social influencer marketing is a new and rapidly growing means of getting your message out to your audience. It’s changed the face of advertising and has everyone from up-to-the-...
Episode 08 – The Joy of Work
April 23, 2019
Katie’s guest this week is an extremely versatile communicator. In his day job as European Vice President of Twitter, Bruce Daisley has overseen the development of one of the wor...
Episode 07 – What social purpose (really) means
April 9, 2019
Running the UK’s largest retail and financial services network with more branches than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put together, the Post Office is at the hear...
Episode 06 – The craft of communication
March 27, 2019
In episode six, Katie travels beyond the boundaries of internal comms to find out how to write more engagingly, tell better stories and use humour to deliver your message. And who ...
Episode 05 – Learning comms lessons from PR
March 13, 2019
In episode five, Katie aims to find out what internal communications can learn from external communications. So she sits down with ‘mister public relations’, Stephen Waddington...
Episode 04 – What it means to be the voice of IC
February 27, 2019
The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) is the voice of the IC profession – dedicated to strengthening confidence, credibility and community. And on 12 March, the IoIC cel...
Episode 03 – What the State of the Sector report means for IC
February 13, 2019
Episode three lands as Gatehouse’s latest State of the Sector report is published. Katie invites Jenni Field, a tireless, high-profile personality of the IC landscape, to discus...
Episode 02 – What it takes to be an IC leader
January 30, 2019
Even if you’re only vaguely familiar with internal communications, Katie’s guest in episode two will no doubt be a name you recognise. In a career spanning 30 years, Russell G...
Episode 01 – How to thrive in IC
January 16, 2019
In the first episode of The Internal Comms Podcast, Katie meets Rachel Miller – a prolific blogger, educator, keynote speaker and one of the most respected voices in internal com...
