Why Your Company Offsite Isn't Working — Behavioral Science Has the Answer
Summary
*Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.co
Ben Wise and Darren Chiu are the founders of Captivate - a newsletter and training platform that turns behavioral science into practical tools for persuasion, communication, and change. In this conversation, we dig into the line between ethical persuasion and manipulation, why emotion drives decision-making more than logic, and how leaders can use simple tactics to run better meetings and offsites.
If you plan internal offsites, sales kickoffs, or team gatherings, this episode is a playbook: how to prime people before they arrive, how to open the day so you don’t lose the room, and how “labeling” emotions can instantly reduce tension and increase buy-in. We also explore persuasion in advertising, why small conversion lifts matter at scale, and how AI is best used as a thought partner - not as your voice.
CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Captivate: turning behavioral science into practical business tools 5:55 - How Ben and Darren met at Google and started the newsletter 8:10 - The core insight: people decide emotionally, not rationally 11:43 - How to run better offsites and kick off meetings properly 18:41 - Psychological tactics: labeling emotions and calling out elephants 26:22 - Persuasion in marketing, advertising, and the AI era