How can a keynote speaker drive meaningful mindset change in just 60 minutes?

Try 10 seconds!

Sure, I can change someone's brain in 10 seconds.....

But let's dig into a whole keynote session, where often the hiring organisation is looking for meaningful change and a lasting one at that!

This is where it gets exciting!

In a single session, a skilled speaker can activate the brain's prediction error system, disrupting outdated thought patterns and installing new ways of thinking.

A prediction error occurs when what a person expects to happen differs from what actually happens. And by expect I mean - unconsciously expect. 

Our predictive brains are always at work and our experiences, knowledge and beliefs all create an expectation of what happens next. It's why we achieve great things and are efficient, and it's also why we make mistakes. 

So when that prediction error occurs, often caused by such things as surprise, confusion, delight, or emotion, and it creates this 'aha' moment....and the person's mental model is updated with what's now possible. A change of the brain has occurred. 

The mind has been changed - through an experience. 

As a keynote speaker, that’s what I do:

• Use illusion to trigger surprise
• Use narrative to create meaning
• Use neuroscience to make it stick
• Use emotion to lock it in

It's not about finishing the change; it's about starting the rewiring process and creating anchors that the brain continues processing long after the event.

I'll curate that change based on what the organisation needs. 

A landmark U.S. experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement (Yeager et al, 2019), demonstrating that even brief mindset interventions (less than 1 hour) had lasting impacts across a national sample. [See study]

A super‑short online growth mindset workout, in less than an hour, helped students bump their grades or take tougher courses.

Key takeaway - You can change minds quickly, and sustain that change, if you deliver an empowering message compellingly and align it with the social context.

So… can minds really change in a keynote?

Absolutely. If it’s crafted with intention.

I’ll design the experience around the exact change your organisation needs - so your people don’t just hear something new…

They feel it.

They see it.

And their brains start rewiring on the spot.

Because real change starts with one surprising, empowering, unforgettable moment.

That 10 second moment? You'll have to see it to believe it. 

Written by Alex Moffat | Keynote Speaker - Sydney.