The Human Risk Podcast Human Risk

What’s the most effective way to communicate rules and influence humans to comply with them? On the face of it, just telling people what to do seems like a sensible approach. But what about when those rules have a qualitative component, where people need to do things to a particular standard — for example, behave in an ethical manner — or where it’s not possible to monitor what they’re doing?

In those cases, just telling people what to do is far less likely to work as we risk only finding out once it’s too late. We need an alternative approach.

My guest on this episode is Dr Bettina Palazzo. She’s a business ethics consultant who helps companies to improve their integrity culture and bring a fresh perspective to compliance and ethics. Or, to put it another way, she helps people who are responsible for mitigating human risk to engage their audiences.

In our discussion, Bettina emphasizes the need for companies to prioritize ethics in all aspects of business, as well as the importance of creating individualized codes of conduct and focusing on the client experience and employee journey of compliance.

Bettina also tells me about "ethics scripting" for employees to have a clear response in difficult ethical situations and the need for clear policies in grey areas of decision-making.

She also introduces her Compliance Influencer program: https://compliance-influencer.com/

To learn more about Bettina: https://bettinapalazzo.com/en/home/

In our discussion, I mention a ‘readability’ measure in Microsoft Word: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-your-document-s-readability-and-level-statistics-85b4969e-e80a-4777-8dd3-f7fc3c8b3fd2

For more on my book ‘Humanizing Rules’: https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

What happens when people meet technology? As Artificial Intelligence makes machines appear to be more human, what does that mean for the interactions we have with tech?

On this episode, I’m speaking to Matt Ballantine. He has spent spent the past two decades helping organisations make sense of where people, communications and technology collide.

In the past, Matt has worked in global technology, media and marketing organisations, including Microsoft, Imagination, Reuters and the BBC, focussed on a wide range of technology and organisational challenges.

All of this means he’s got some fantastic insights to share. And he’s got some really interesting ideas about how we can think about technology and the impact it is having on our lives.

For more information:

Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattballantine/

Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ballantine70

To read his blog: https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/

For more on 100 Coffees: https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/category/projects/100-coffees/

The PlayCards: https://stamplondon.co.uk/

Matt’s WB40 podcast: https://wb40podcast.com/about/

For more on my book ‘Humanizing Rules’: https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

Why did an advertisement for coffee prompt a nurse to contact the company to ask them to withdraw it? The answer is that the nurse in question has 20 years experience in burn care, and the advertisement — for the coffee chain Costa Coffee — showed a scene which, if replicated in real life, could cause serious injury.

That nurse is called Kristina Stiles, and she’s my latest guest on the show. I saw her post and was intrigued. After a brief introductory discussion, I realised that not only was this an opportunity to highlight how humans can underestimate risk but also to learn some fascinating techniques that are used to help prevent it.

On the show, we talk about the risk of burns and scalds, what you can do to prevent them from happening and get practical advice on how to respond if they occur.

For easy reference, the key lessons Krissie shares are:
Most burn injuries happen in the home, so preventing burns is mainly preventing hot liquid scolds in our homes.Wherever you are working with boiling water, hot pants, hot oven doors, or running a hot bath, it's really important that you separate your young family members away from those areas.But if the inevitable does happen, it's 20 minutes of cool running water. This is still effective within three hours of the burn injury.Call for help, and then wrap gently, loosely in cling film or a non-fluffy clean cloth.
To see the post that led to me inviting Krissie onto the show and the Costa Coffee advertisement: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kristina-stiles-msc-%F0%9F%87%B1%F0%9F%87%BB-%F0%9F%87%AC%F0%9F%87%A7-8b225997_burns-prevention-beburnsaware-activity-7046899226101866499-P4tr?

For more information on:

The Children’s Burns Trust: https://www.cbtrust.org.uk/

Dan’s Fund for Burns: https://dansfundforburns.org/

The Katie Piper Foundation: https://katiepiperfoundation.org.uk/

The Family Oops eBook that Kristina wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7aDyugYJOM

What’s the difference between a leader that communicates well and one that doesn’t?

We’ve all seen examples of leaders who are terrible at communicating — whether it’s politicians that can’t find the right words or those nightmare bosses who fail to read the room. If you’ve watched any of the recent clips on social media of insensitive bosses communicating really badly, then this episode is your antidote.

My guest is Jenny-Joy Kreindl. She’s the managing partner of Talent & Leadership Solutions, a boutique consultancy based in Switzerland. Jenny specialises in human-centric communication, and she is interested in the psychology of choice and how language can influence decision-making. In a previous life, she's had a broad career, initially training as an actress and finally working at UBS — where I met her — managing a sales team. She's also a qualified coach.

In our discussion, we explore the importance of effective communication strategies in leadership and sales tactics. Jenny shares practical examples of how we can all — whether we're in leadership positions or not — improve our communication skills.

We also explore the impact of government communication during the COVID pandemic and how it affected public opinion and behavior. Jenny also shares her personal experiences and observations, including her experience of using train and plane travel as an opportunity to connect with senior executives.

For more on Talent & Leadership Solutions - https://www.talentandleadership.com/

For more on Jenny - https://www.talentandleadership.com/about/

For more on the Make It Click model - https://www.make-it-click.com/model/

You can hear Jenny’s colleague Sigfried Höhnle talking about positive leadership on the show here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-sigi-hoenle-on-positive-leadership/

For more on my book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance’ visit: https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

What do we mean when we say that someone is being unreasonable? On the face of it, the person we're describing has either broken a rule or a social norm. But what are we basing that on?

My guest Dr Kirsty Sedgman is a Doctor of Audiences at the University of Bristol. That means she researches how audiences — for example, in the theatre — behave and respond to the performance they're watching.

Her work investigates how people find value in cultural participation. How do they experience and respond to the things they see? How are these pleasures and disappointments made meaningful in their lives? And what can all this tell us about the role of the arts in society and the relationship between cultural institutions, power, identity, and place?

More recently, she's turned that same lens onto other situations — for example, being on public transport, at work or in a cafe - to explore what being reasonable or unreasonable means.

Through her research, Kirsty has discovered that the idea of being reasonable is deeply embedded in our moral and legal judgment system and can often be subjective and influenced by personal biases. From theatre etiquette to crossing the road, there are rules in place for our safety and social norms. These can be useful, but they can also have the potential to marginalize and exclude certain groups of people.

As Kristy explains, what is reasonable or unreasonable, is actually a matter of perception. That's relevant to how we all behave, how we judge the behaviour of others and is highly relevant for those of us responsible for influencing human behaviour.

The story about the performance of the Bodyguard that was disrupted by members of the audience that I refer to is explained here: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/astonishing-moment-audience-member-screams-26658204

You can find out more about Kirsty on her website: https://kirstysedgman.com/
Her academic profile: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Kirsty-Sedgman-35581165-6a8e-4715-9e89-05670807d2e0/

For details of her book 'Being Unreasonable':
https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571366835-on-being-unreasonable/

You can find her on social media:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/KirstySedgman

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstysedgman/

For more details on my new book 'Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance' visit https://www.human-risk.com/humanizing-rules-book

Why might seeking to ban misinformation, be a bad idea? On this episode, I’m returning to a subject I’ve looked at before, with a guest I’ve spoken to before!

She’s Professor Magda Osman — if you’ve not heard her previous experiences, there are links below to those and her bio – and, as ever, she’s got some fascinating insights. The topic is Misinformation.

On the face of it, trying to ban mis- or disinformation seems like a good idea. If we know something is likely to mislead people then, we should surely look at restricting or banning it. That’s why most countries regulate advertising.

But what if I told you that there might be a good reason not to ban it? That’s the (perhaps surprising) conclusion that Magda’s research has produced.

So, in this episode, I’m delving back into the topic of misinformation and disinformation - what they are, how they're regulated, and how they impact society.

And Magda helps me to think about whether labelling any dissenting information as misinformation and banning it from communication is the right approach.

We explore the tenuous connection between beliefs and actions and how exposure to false news or misinformation does not necessarily lead to negative behaviour.

Plus we discuss the challenges of determining what is true and what is not, particularly when it comes to scientific discoveries, and the consequences of intentional distortion of facts for profit.

Finally, our conversation moves into an area I wasn’t expecting, but which is related and fascinating. Does adding more labels to food packaging help people make better choices and can it actually change consumer behaviour?

If you’ve heard Magda before you’ll know that you’re in for a treat. If you haven’t, then remember to check out her previous appearances.

Background
Magda is a Professor in Basic and Applied Decision-Making at the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge and the Visiting Professor of Policy Impact at Leeds Business School, part of the University of Leeds.

You can read more about Magda and her work on her faculty page here: https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/network/magda-osman/

And on her personal website here: https://www.magdaosman.com/

In her most recent appearance on the show, earlier this year, she talked about Compliance, Coercion & Competence. You can hear that episode here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/professor-magda-osman-on-compliance-coercion-competence/

Magda first appeared on the show in 2020 when she talked about behavioural interventions that had failed and what we can learn from them. You’ll find that here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-magda-osman-on-behavioural/

Then in 2021, she returned to talk about Unconscious Bias. You’ll find that here: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/dr-magda-osman-on-unconscious/

To hear the previous episode of the show on Misinformation, with another Cambridge Professor, Sander Van Der Linden: https://www.humanriskpodcast.com/professor-sander-van-der-linden-on-misinformation/

Humanizing Rules
To learn more about my book ‘Humanizing...