Access to Inspiration: Dr. Paul Zak

Inspiration. It’s the magic that allows us to transcend ordinary human experiences.

Sue Stockdale of the Access to Inspiration podcast, was curious about the neuroscience of inspiration – what’s happening in our brains when we’re actively inspired. So we had a conversation!

Dr. Paul Zak, the co-founder of Immersion, joined the podcast recently to share insight and explain how Immersion helps to create extraordinary experiences that inspire by measuring what the brain loves.

First, Sue wanted to know how Dr. Zak became interested in studying neuroscience. 

"I’m a martian . . . and so, I’m very curious about humans." - Dr. Paul Zak

Yes - those of us who know him, can attest to his extraterrestrial-ness.

In all seriousness - Dr. Zak spend years conducting research to better learn about people by identifying what signals in the brain predict the actions people would talk after an experience.

His findings? Oxytocin!

Oxytocin is a neurochemical in the brain that is released when the brain is immersed in an experience and more likely to remember it and take future action.. Classically, this was measured through blood draws - something Dr. Zak knew people would be keen to do over and over again. 

So he developed a protocol to measure the brains acute production of oxytocin by studying small changes in their heartbeats. This is easily measured through a smartwatch that can detect heart rate variability (HRV). 

With this discovery, Dr. Zak co-founded Immersion, which allows any person to measure emotional connection from a brain to an experience in real time using only a smartwatch. 

Dr. Zak notes that individuals who are highly empathetic by personality are really good at reading other people while other personality types aren’t as skilled in that social arena.

The applications of Immersion are huge for service-based businesses. To deliver effective customer experiences - a company needs to know if their interactions with your audience are successful. If they create an inspired state of mind that will drive future action. 

Dr. Zak describes Immersion as a kind of ‘neural prosthetic’ that gives users the ability to more accurately understand what is going on in the brains of their consumers so they can create better experiences that drive future action. 

‘"Immersion) is the first neuroscience as a service platform that gives people the superpower to read minds." - Dr. Zak

Measuring brains in real time is a superpower that enables people to create extraordinary experiences.

What to hear more? Listen to the full podcast HERE or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Ready to create extraordinary experiences for your customers?