Bring color to your next event with a keynote on the psychology of creativity

Presented By Jessica Carson

Jessica Carson is a leading author, speaker & innovator on the psychology of creativity & entrepreneurship

Learning Outcomes

  • Creative Innovation

    Develop practical skills to boost your unique creative thinking and problem-solving abilities with a strengths-based approach to creativity.

  • Entrepreneurial Mindset

    Gain an understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset, including opportunity recognition, risk tolerance, and cognitive flexibility, as well as how to apply it.

  • Leadership for Well-being

    Learn how to lead with a focus on well-being, including mental and emotional health, creative potential, self-actualization, autotelic work, and more.

Speaking topics.

Uninhibited: What Rappers & Comedians Teach Us About Creativity

Rappers in brain scanners can teach us a lot abut the nature of spontaneous creativity. The unique patterns of brain activity that occur during improvisation highlight the perils of self-criticism and the importance of letting loose. In this playful yet practical talk, Jessica Carson shares the incredible science behind creativity and improvisation, her personal story conducting this research, and concrete strategies to foster more (workplace-appropriate) creative freedom and flow.

  • Explore the research on the psychology of creativity and improvisation

  • Understand why certain people, like rappers, comedians and jazz musicians, are better at on-the-spot creativity

  • Learn why self-monitoring, inhibition, and being a ‘grown-up’ can inhibit creativity

  • Identify concrete strategies to bring more freedom and flow to your creativity at work

Wired This Way: The Unique Psychology of Creative & Entrepreneurial Minds

With brains wired for both creativity and a touch of madness, the entrepreneurial personality is a source of lore and fascination. But would creators still have their creative power without their dark side: Their demons, flaws, and peccadillos? In this talk, Jessica Carson shares the powerful science behind the light-and-dark personalities of entrepreneurs, based on her book Wired This Way, as well as concrete strategies to find well-being as a creator.

  • Explore the research on the psychology of creatives and entrepreneurs

  • Understand the real reason why entrepreneurs struggle with mental health

  • Learn about the 10 most common personality traits in creators

  • Identify your own ‘dark side’ — and how it’s connected to your creative gifts

  • Find ways to minimize the harmful effects of your dark side

Quirk: How Cognitive Diversity Fuels Creativity

In the office, we often shy away from flaunting the sensitivities, challenges, and quirks that set us apart. But research suggests that it’s our cognitive diversity — the differences in our brains, bodies, and lived experiences — that underpin our most powerful creative gifts. In this talk, Jessica Carson shares research that links neurodiversity and adversity to creative giftedness, as well as concrete strategies to foster a culture of productive uniqueness.

  • Learn the research behind creative neurodiversity

  • Understand the role of adversity for creativity

  • Identify your own quirks

  • Discover how to share your quirks with tact

  • Harness your quirks to unlock gifts and propel success

Existentially Itchy: Creativity & The Science of Self-Actualization

Many of us approach work with an eye on the existential: We crave a sense of purpose, connectedness, flow, awe, and legacy. But scratching this existential itch in traditional work environments isn’t always easy. In this talk, Jessica Carson shares the science behind self-actualizing work, as well as concrete strategies to find more meaning in the office.

  • Understand the science of self-actualization

  • Discover the essential role of creativity in our human heritage

  • Explore the ways in which purpose plays into creative and entrepreneurial work

  • Learn about the 5 types of workplace self-actualizers

  • Identify strategies for more meaning based on your type