Dr Paul. Zak: Why Building Trust, Engagement & Emotional Fitness is the Key to Creating Unforgettable Experiences and Thriving Relationships—at Work, in Business, and in Life.
02/05/25 • 70 min
In this episode of The Experience Designers, I sit down with Dr. Paul Zak, the neuroscientist who wrote the book on trust and human connection. A TED speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Immersion Neuroscience, Paul has spent decades uncovering the brain’s hidden responses to experiences, brands, and relationships.
Link to Six App - https://your6.com/
Connect with Paul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-j-zak-91123510/
TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin
In this episode of The Experience Designers, I sit down with Dr. Paul Zak, the neuroscientist who wrote the book on trust and human connection. A TED speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Immersion Neuroscience, Paul has spent decades uncovering the brain’s hidden responses to experiences, brands, and relationships.
Link to Six App - https://your6.com/
Connect with Paul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-j-zak-91123510/
TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin
Previous Episode
Goc O'Callaghan part 2 - The secrets and learnings from the dark side of Disney's magic
What if the magic behind your favourite experiences wasn't just a coincidence? In this second part two of this two-part series with Goc O'Callaghan, Co-owner of ArcTanGent Festival and Global Experience Lead at Buro Happold.
In this episode, we peel back the curtain on the often-overlooked and unknown 'dark side' of Disney's magic. From the hidden infrastructure at Disney parks to designing festivals that feel like second homes, Goc reveals how intentional design can transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary memories.
Get ready to explore behind the scenes of thoughtful details, and see how the environments around us are engineered to make us feel, move, and connect in profound ways.
00:00 Introduction to the Experience Designers Podcast
01:05 Guest Introduction: Goc O'Callaghan
02:06 The Dark Side of Disney
03:13 Disney's Design Secrets
07:07 Real-Time Feedback and Customer Experience
08:47 Designing for the Senses
10:48 Applying Disney's Principles to Business
15:36 Experience Design in Structural Engineering
18:55 Quantifying Experience
31:26 Personalizing Office Spaces
38:02 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
43:55 Conclusion and Farewell
Next Episode
Mat Duerden - Unlock the Experience Ladder. How to Elevate Experiences from Memorable to Transformative
Dive into a captivating discussion on experience design with Mat Duerden, Department Chair of Experience Design and Management in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University and Co-Author of the book Experience Design. Reveals how intentional design can transform everyday moments into powerful experiences. Mat shares his journey from adventurous childhood whitewater rafting to pioneering leadership in experience design education, illustrating the “experience ladder” from ordinary to transformative.
They also explore how attention has become scarce in today’s fast-paced world, emphasising co-creation, reflection, and lessons learned from recent global shifts. Discover how thoughtful design can spark meaningful change in personal and professional realms.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Experience Design
02:47 Personal Journey and Early Influences
05:59 Defining Experience Design
08:57 Academic Environment and Experience Design Education
12:00 Global Trends in Experience Design
14:59 Intentionality in Experience Design
18:13 The Experience Ladder: From Ordinary to Transformative
21:12 Reflection and Meaning in Experiences
24:03 The Importance of Transformative Experiences
26:47 Navigating Transformation in a Rapidly Changing World
32:47 The Scarcity of Attention
35:44 Guided Transformations in Experience Design
37:40 The Role of Experience Designers
41:51 The Evolution of Work Experiences
50:28 Future of Experience Design
01:01:25 Connecting Through Experiences
Mats bio & links
Mat is the Department Chair of Experience Design and Management at the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. His experience design research focuses on memorable, meaningful, and transformative experiences. He also collaborates on research exploring the neurological connection between storytelling and social connection.
Mat’s publications have appeared in various journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Journal of Adolescent Research, and Journal of Leisure Research. Mat co-authored Designing Experiences with Robert Rossman, which was published in 2019 by Columbia Business School Press. In 2021, Axiom Business Awards selected the book as a silver medalist winner in the Business Intelligence/Innovation category. Mat works with organisations across various sectors, including healthcare, education, not-for-profit, tourism, manufacturing, and consumer product goods, to provide training and consulting around experience design.
Mat Duerden (LinkedIn)
Professor
Alumni Distinguished Fellow
Department of Experience Design and Management
Marriott School of Business
Brigham Young University
Co-author of Designing Experiences
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