In this talk, Maria combines her personal experience as a champion poker player with her original research into the psychology of human decision making to explore how we can all learn to make better decisions in every aspect of our lives, from the negotiating table to our personal relationships. How can we think probabilistically, manage our emotions, evaluate risk distinguish the noise of chance from the elements of control, learn when to go all in — and when to fold? Journey with Maria into some of the deepest crevices of the human mind, and emerge with a roadmap for how you can, immediately and practically, become a clearer thinker and more optimal decision maker in all areas of your life.

When Maria was working on her best-selling book, The Confidence Game, she spent over three years in the company of confidence artists and their victims, learning the intimate techniques of persuasion and deception from the people who practice it best. In this talk, Maria will explore the psychology of the con and why even the smartest people are susceptible to it. She’ll also show us what we can do, as professionals and as humans, to avoid the pitfalls that our humanity creates for us without losing our ability to trust. Join Maria in exploring what con artists can teach us about the essence of persuasion and trust. You will not only learn to spot and arm yourself against deception and fraud — in everything from potential investment opportunities to personal relationships — but will emerge knowing how to use the tools of the con artist’s toolbox to become a better and more confident persuader yourself. After all, why can’t we use the tricks of the best influencers in the world to make that world a better place?

No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves, to improve our lives at work and at home? We can, as Maria shows us in this talk. Beginning with the “brain attic” — Holmes’s metaphor for how we store information and organize knowledge — she unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights. Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, this talk explores Holmes’s unique methods of ever-present mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction. In doing so, it shows how each of us, with some self-awareness and a little practice, can employ these same methods to sharpen our perceptions, solve difficult problems, and enhance our own creative powers.