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This brilliant and entertaining keynote performance will change the way you think about people, progress, and collaboration.
Shane Snow takes audiences on a rollicking adventure, revealing the secrets of the world’s most successful teams and coalitions in history.
You’ll learn about the surprising factor behind most failed mergers and marriages; how a certain method of fighting is more useful than brainstorming; how leveraging “cognitive diversity” helps groups outmatch competitors; the science of becoming open-minded—and the outsize effect it has on group success; and the counter-intuitive truths about becoming better team players ourselves.
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In this fast-paced keynote, Snow shares the secrets to powerful storytelling, with compelling (and often hilarious) stories and behind-the-scenes insights from his award-winning content company and hit book The Storytelling Edge.
With his signature blend of dramatic narrative and rigorous science, Snow shows not only how each member of the audience can use storytelling to supercharge their jobs, but how stories work at a neurological level, and how our organizations can harness their power to build relationships, make people care, and spur change.
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Breakthrough innovation happens when we rethink conventional wisdom. But how do you train yourself—or your organization—to think differently? How do you foster an environment where it’s safe to do so, where innovation can thrive without destroying your business?
How do the world’s most clever companies manage to not only endure change, but harness it to climb to new heights? How do rocket makers and children’s hospitals stay alive in the face of market shifts and competitive challenges? What can established businesses learn from revolutionaries, crazy geniuses, and crackpot comedians to help manage changes big and small?
In this clever and surprising keynote, Snow debunks myths of success, shares unforgettable research and stories, and fires audiences up to 11. You will never think the same.
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Shane Snow customizes each experience for industry and audience (e.g. managers vs. front-line employees) through surprising stories and thought-provoking research, leaving people energized and with concrete ways to implement new ideas.
Shane Snow is a bestselling author, journalist, entrepreneur, and sought-after keynote speaker whose work fuses research, storytelling, and practical insight. He has served as Chief Creative Officer at Contently, co-founded media and tech ventures, and produced Broadway shows.
His books such as Smartcuts and Dream Teams explore how cognitive diversity, open-minded thinking, and storytelling drive innovation, collaboration, and high performance in businesses. Audiences worldwide look to Shane for fresh ways to work better, lead smarter, and create cultures where teams don’t just function, they excel.
Shane Snow is a renowned keynote speaker, celebrated author, and esteemed entrepreneur whose expertise in high performance, culture, and teamwork has transformed organizations worldwide. As the co-founder of the content technology company Contently and an acclaimed journalist, Shane’s insights into the dynamics of collaboration and innovation have positioned him as a thought leader in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. His engaging speaking style and profound knowledge make him a sought-after speaker at conferences, corporate events, and leadership summits.
In his talks, Shane Snow delves into the principles that drive high performance and innovation, drawing on real-world examples and cutting-edge research. His compelling narratives and practical advice resonate with diverse audiences, inspiring them to rethink traditional approaches to teamwork and performance. Shane’s mission is to empower organizations to harness their collective potential and achieve extraordinary results.
A dynamic storyteller and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, Shane Snow has been declared a “wunderkind” by The New York Times, a “maverick” by Details, and his work praised as “insanely addicting” by GQ. He’s consistently rated the top speaker at global conferences and private events—with an uncanny ability to get people to drop their phones (unless it’s to tweet about their minds being blown), leaving audiences with new ways to approach problem-solving, growth, and teamwork. After hearing Snow speak, people never look at work the same way again.
In his book “Smartcuts,” Shane Snow explores how unconventional thinking and strategic shortcuts can lead to breakthrough success. He examines the habits and mindsets of top performers across various fields, offering practical strategies for achieving more with less effort. This exploration of lateral thinking and efficiency has resonated with audiences seeking to optimize their performance and drive innovation within their teams.
“Dream Teams,” another of Shane’s seminal works, delves into the science of teamwork and collaboration. By analyzing successful teams from diverse industries, Shane uncovers the underlying principles that enable groups to overcome conflict, leverage diversity, and achieve synergy. His findings challenge conventional wisdom about teamwork and provide a roadmap for building cohesive, high-performing teams. This book has become a go-to resource for leaders looking to foster a culture of collaboration and inclusivity.
Shane’s speaking engagements are characterized by their dynamic and interactive nature. He blends storytelling with data-driven insights, creating an engaging and informative experience for his audience. His ability to simplify complex concepts and present them in an accessible manner makes his talks valuable for professionals at all levels. Whether addressing C-suite executives or front-line employees, Shane Snow tailors his message to resonate with the specific needs and challenges of his audience.
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See highlights from Shane Snow’s keynote speaking: bestselling author and journalist inspiring organizations with innovation, storytelling, and teamwork insights.
This 5-minute speaker showreel showcases Shane Snow’s dynamic keynote delivery and thought-provoking ideas. Introduced as an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and gifted storyteller, Shane explains why progress requires fresh approaches and the courage to break molds rather than cut corners. He introduces the concept of lateral thinking—stepping outside conventional frames to uncover creative solutions—and illustrates it with vivid metaphors.
The reel captures his signature style: blending research, humor, and storytelling to challenge audiences’ assumptions about teamwork, leadership, and innovation. Shane emphasizes cognitive diversity and friction as essential for “dream teams,” where productive tension sparks breakthroughs. He reminds viewers that the age of the lone innovator is over; success now depends on collective intelligence and a shift toward the “we mindset.”
Designed for event planners and decision-makers, the showreel highlights Shane’s ability to connect with audiences, deliver practical insights, and leave teams motivated to think differently and collaborate more effectively.
00:00 – Shane Snow introduced as bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and storyteller.
00:25 – Change requires new approaches, not repeating old habits or cutting corners.
01:20 – Creative problem-solving by questioning assumptions and reframing challenges.
02:10 – Rubber band and mountain range metaphors illustrating tension and exploration.
03:20 – Diverse perspectives and disagreement as catalysts for stronger solutions.
04:20 – Collaboration, openness, and humility drive innovation; the era of lone geniuses is over.
05:10 – Moral: we need each other to create meaningful change.
Shane Snow combines personal storytelling, original research, and practical leadership guidance to show how intellectual humility and cognitive diversity unlock better teams and breakthrough innovation.
Shane Snow opens with a vivid childhood story: a stranded 1970s Chevy van in nowhere Idaho, a sick grandfather desperate to meet his new grandchild, and a family improvising to get home. That scene becomes a launching point for a broader case that many of today’s challenges are too big for lone actors and require collaborative problem solving. Drawing on a decade of journalism and a large study of intellectual humility involving more than 20,000 people and a million data points, Snow argues that intellectual humility is the single skill that most consistently equips teams to adapt and innovate.
He defines intellectual humility as the willingness to change one’s mind when evidence warrants it, a balanced virtue between stubbornness and gullibility. Snow identifies ego as the primary barrier: when people conflate their identity with their opinions they do “Judo on the truth,” interpreting evidence to protect self-image. To counter this, Snow offers practical language and culture shifts. He highlights Ben Franklin’s rhetorical habit of prefacing strong positions with “I could be wrong,” which preserves psychological flexibility and reduces the cost of being proven wrong.
Snow also explains how leadership must evolve. Past leaders were chosen to make people feel safe or confident in the leader’s answers. Future leaders must act like orchestra conductors, orchestrating cognitive diversity so the team is collectively smarter than any single leader. He illustrates the creative payoff of perspective mixing with Lonnie Johnson’s Super Soaker origin story — a cross-domain insight born from combining disparate experiences.
Practically, Snow recommends praising the behaviors that move thinking forward rather than only correct answers, using charitable assumptions to defuse defensiveness, and treating strong gut feelings as a cue to deliberate instead of act. He closes the loop by returning to the van: his grandfather’s willingness to let two kids show him how a toy worked helped the family get home. The moral is simple: we need each other, and intellectual humility is how we make that need into collective strength.
00:00 – 00:35 Opening image: 1970s two-tone Chevy van and set up of family crisis.
00:36 – 01:50 Childhood scene: breakdown in nowhere Idaho, stakes with newborn and grandfather.
01:51 – 02:30 Transition: large problems cannot be fixed alone; collaboration matters.
02:31 – 03:40 Core idea introduced: intellectual humility defined and why it matters.
03:41 – 04:30 Study overview: over 20,000 participants and a million data points; ego as barrier.
04:31 – 05:40 Ego and discourse: how identity contaminates arguments and creates selective reasoning.
05:41 – 06:30 Practical speech model: Ben Franklin’s “I could be wrong” habit as a tool.
06:31 – 07:40 Leadership implications: from hero leaders to conductor leaders who cultivate cognitive diversity.
07:41 – 08:40 Innovation example: Lonnie Johnson and the Super Soaker as cross-domain insight.
08:41 – 09:20 Cognitive biases: most people overestimate their openness; implications for teams.
09:21 – 09:50 Practical tip: treat strong gut feelings as triggers to deliberate and assume the most charitable interpretation.
09:51 – 10:20 Closing story resolution: the van improv, grandfather’s humility, and the concluding moral that we need one another.
In this short keynote excerpt, Shane Snow explains why revolutionary ideas inspire greater support than small ones, and how leaders can foster innovation through humility and collaboration.
In this 3-minute clip, Shane Snow highlights the principle of 10x thinking — the idea that bold, revolutionary goals attract the support needed to make breakthroughs possible. He uses the example of Elon Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary: while getting to Mars is a massive challenge, the ambition itself inspired investors, scientists, and the public to rally behind the mission.
Snow emphasizes that big stories attract big support. People don’t get excited about ordinary goals, like a neighborhood lemonade stand, but they will fight for or against revolutions because revolutions inspire them. This is why audacious thinking often becomes more practical than modest ambitions.
He connects this mindset to three key elements of innovation and leadership:
Snow closes by urging leaders to move from a “me” mindset to a “we” mindset, building teams where inspiration, diversity of thought, and collaboration lead to lasting innovation.
00:00 – 00:40 Elon Musk’s Mars story as an example of bold 10x thinking that inspires support.
00:41 – 01:20 Revolutionary ideas attract attention, investment, and commitment, unlike uninspiring small goals.
01:21 – 02:10 Why revolutions matter more than lemonade stands: people care deeply about transformative causes.
02:11 – 02:40 Three essentials: lateral thinking, intellectual humility, and cognitive friction.
02:41 – 03:11 Closing: leaders must shift from “me” to “we” to drive innovation and progress.
In this short keynote excerpt, Shane Snow explains how storytelling evolved as a survival trait, binding tribes together and shaping memory, trust, and loyalty.
In this 2-minute clip, Shane Snow explains that humans are evolutionarily programmed for stories. Biologists suggest that as language developed, so too did imagination and storytelling, traits that became critical for survival. Unlike predators such as saber-tooth tigers, humans had weaker bodies but larger brains. To thrive, they needed to collaborate in tribes, share knowledge, and inspire care for one another.
Stories allowed people to compress complex experiences into memorable lessons: which berries were poisonous, where dangers lurked, and what values mattered. Over time, storytelling became the glue of communities. Snow notes that the strongest relationships whether with family, friends, colleagues, or even nations are built on shared stories. Dinner table conversations, patriotic narratives, and daily anecdotes all reinforce loyalty and connectedness.
Snow concludes that while storytelling may sometimes seem irrational, it is in fact biologically rational, it is how humans survive, bond, and make progress together.
00:00 – 00:20 Humans evolved language, imagination, and storytelling together.
00:21 – 00:50 Early tribes used stories to share survival lessons and create memory.
00:51 – 01:20 Storytelling builds trust and connection in relationships and families.
01:21 – 01:50 National and group loyalty often comes from shared stories of identity and sacrifice.
01:51 – 02:03 Closing: storytelling is a biological survival mechanism that binds us together.
Shane Snow adapts his presentation content and examples (e.g. sector, role level) to match your audience’s challenges, whether front-line teams or C-suite.
Domestic U.S. keynotes typically run around US $30,000 (plus travel/accommodations), with reduced rates for nearby events around Chicago. Virtual engagements are available.
His major keynotes include: “Dream Teams & The Science of Breakthrough Collaboration,” “The Storytelling Edge,” and “Smartcuts for Accelerating Innovation & Thinking Differently.”
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