Dr. Christopher Cummings may have started his career in the classroom but he would eventually find himself in the “COVID-19 war room” during the global pandemic in 2020.

A high stakes job you may never have considered, Chris is a behavioral theorist and Research Social Scientist. 

He’s in the business of understanding—scientifically and psychologically—how we perceive risk. How do you convey complex concepts in sometimes scary times? How do you act swiftly while information is rapidly changing? Many of Chris’ answers share core concepts with the B2B world.

After watching Chris’s 2017 TED Talk, The Dark Magic of Communication (and talking about it in our subsequent episode #167), Mikey and Molly knew they had to get Chris on the ‘cast to confirm what they already suspected—Chris is the most interesting man in communications.

Together, we dig into Chris’s unique journey, navigating international comms on emergency vaccine research, presentation skills, his TED Talk experience, mold spores and more.

This is an episode for: speakers with high stakes presentations, anyone interested in social science and everyone still processing their pandemic lockdown.