Jamil Zaki

Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, Best-Selling Author of The War for Kindness and Hope for Cynics

Connected communities thrive at every level, and connection is a skill.  Jamil Zaki specializes in teaching that skill. Jamil regularly gives keynotes and workshops on the science of human connection to all types of audiences – from K-12 students to Fortune 100 executive teams.  He has helped middle schoolers cultivate self-compassion, hospital systems inject empathy into their care, and Fortune 100 companies upskill their workforce to listen more effectively.  Jamil believes that “soft skills” can be trained, and has a track record of helping organizations cultivate stronger, more successful cultures through such training.

  • Jamil Zaki Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type

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  • Languages Spoken

    English

  • Travels From

    California, USA

  • Jamil Zaki Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type

    Please Inquire

  • Languages Spoken

    English

  • Travels From

    California, USA

Suggested Keynote Speaker Programs

Overcoming Cynicism to Build Cultures of Trust

Cynicism—the belief that people are selfish and conniving—has been rising for decades and is an early frontrunner for mood of the 2020s. But when we don’t trust each other, we risk missing out on the things that matter: our health, relationships, and ability to innovate...

Cynicism—the belief that people are selfish and conniving—has been rising for decades and is an early frontrunner for mood of the 2020s. But when we don’t trust each other, we risk missing out on the things that matter: our health, relationships, and ability to innovate. Cynical thinking is especially dangerous when it creeps into the workplace; if it catches on, it can snuff out creativity and collaboration. If we want our teams to trust each other and share their most innovative ideas, we need to fight this invisible threat.

Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki can help. He’s a world leader in the science of human connection, and he’s tackling this problem in a new way. As he laid out in a TED Talk that quickly earned millions of views, cynicism is a “trap” that we fall into. When we think cynically, we are more likely to compete, suspect, and alienate others, bringing out the worst in them and spreading cynicism even further. Jamil shows us how to stop this self-fulfilling prophecy so that we can see the best in each other again.

You’ll learn how to diagnose and overcome the bugs in our thinking that cause cynical attitudes. You’ll be able to correct the common leadership behaviors that inadvertently spread cynicism across organizations, leading to burnout and turnover. Most of all, you’ll learn about “anti-cynicism,” a term that Jamil has coined for a set of practices that actively combat cynical thinking. Anti-cynical workplaces take intentional steps to promote cooperation and trust, and to create healthier, more successful cultures. When you leave Jamil’s talk, you’ll be ready to build an anti-cynical community of your own.

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Building Empathy in a Fractured World

Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. It doesn’t have to be this way. In his groundbreaking book The War For Kindness, ...

Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In his groundbreaking book The War For Kindness, Jamil Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait—something we’re born with or not—but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort. He also tells the stories of people who embody this new perspective, fighting for kindness in the most difficult of circumstances: a former neo-Nazi who is now helping to extract people from hate groups; ex-prisoners discussing novels with the judge who sentenced them; Washington police officers changing their culture to decrease violence among their ranks; and NICU nurses fine- tuning their empathy so that they don’t succumb to burnout.

With clarity and passion, Zaki offers us an inspiring call to action. The future may depend on whether we accept the challenge.

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Empathy: A Key to Thriving Workplaces

Empathy is often stereotyped as a squishy “soft” skill—either irrelevant to, or problematic for, the bottom line. In fact, the opposite is true: empathy is an organizational superpower that makes collaboration more efficient, employees happier, and leadership more ...

Empathy is often stereotyped as a squishy “soft” skill—either irrelevant to, or problematic for, the bottom line. In fact, the opposite is true: empathy is an organizational superpower that makes collaboration more efficient, employees happier, and leadership more effective. Empathy tracks bottom line success and people have caught on. A whopping 85% of CEOs in a recent survey said empathy was important for their bottom line, and over 90% of employees said they’d be more loyal to an empathic company. In the hunt to recruit and keep top talent, making team members feel seen and heard is a key competitive advantage. It also helps orgs cultivate more inclusive and open communities.

So, now that companies are picking up on the value of empathy—what happens next? An increasing number of organizations have started trying to roll out empathy as a corporate value, but the results are often mixed, with many failing in tragic or comic fashions. In the same survey where CEOs sung empathy’s praises, over 90% of their employees said their company wasn’t empathic enough. In other words, there’s a gap between the values leaders are putting on their walls and the reality their teams are experiencing on the ground.

In this talk, Stanford’s Jamil Zaki will share key insights from the science of empathy—showing corporate leaders that 1) empathy is more than one thing, 2) it’s a learnable skill, and 3) it resides not only in people, but in cultures. Whether you’re the head of HR at a global organization, or the founder of a 4-person start-up, Zaki’s talk is required listening for anyone who wants concrete strategies for bringing empathy in the workplace.

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Empathic Inclusion: Why Empathy Is the Key to True DEI

Empathy — the ability to share, understand, and care about others’ experiences — is a key to thriving workplaces, promoting well-being, collaboration, loyalty, and innovation. And it’s a vital element for any successful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. But ...

Empathy — the ability to share, understand, and care about others’ experiences — is a key to thriving workplaces, promoting well-being, collaboration, loyalty, and innovation. And it’s a vital element for any successful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. But it doesn’t always flow through companies the way it should. Empathic people often rise to positions of leadership and influence, but achieving those goals can ironically make it harder for them to connect. Psychologists call this the “power paradox,” and it can get in the way of building an inclusive organization.

The good news is that empathy is a skill, which anyone can strengthen and learn. In this talk, Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki shares insights from the behavioral sciences about overcoming the power paradox, including practical techniques for listening more effectively. By training empathic habits of mind, leaders and organizations can use a fundamental human quality to make sure people from all backgrounds and perspectives feel seen, heard, and understood.

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About Keynote Speaker Jamil Zaki

Jamil Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University. He and his colleagues study social connection, including empathy, cooperation, and trust (see ssnl.stanford.edu for details). He has pioneered a new perspective on empathy as a learnable skill, and much of his work focuses on training individuals, groups, and communities to empathize more effectively.

Dr. Zaki received his BA in cognitive neuroscience from Boston University and his PhD in psychology from Columbia University and conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard Center for Brain Science. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received about two dozen awards from scientific associations and universities. In 2019 he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the US Government’s highest honor for researchers at his career stage.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Zaki is active in outreach and public communication of science. He has written about human connection for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review, and The New Yorker. In 2019, he published his first book, The War for Kindness, which NPR called a “wide-ranging, practical guide to making the world better.” In his latest book, Hope For Cynics (September 2024), Jamil imparts the secret for beating back cynicism while honoring and encouraging the strengths within ourselves and others. Jamil regularly gives talks and trainings to a range of audiences, including Fortune 500 executives, middle schoolers, healthcare workers, and government officials. His TED and TEDx talks have been viewed over 3,000,000 times.

Testimonials

“Jamil was great, all the comments from our audience indicated that they really loved his talk and session. I saw a few people asking if he would come speak at their company so that’s a bonus! Jamil was fantastic and we had overwhelmingly positive feedback.”

Kristen K

Zoom

“Jamil Zaki not only has a lot to say, but he says it well. Zaki’s talk demonstrated—with statistics, anecdotes, and commonsense—how we might make the world a little kinder.  Everyone who attended love the talk and was inspired to do their part to be more empathetic.”

University of Southern Mississippi

 

“Jamil spoke at a meeting for our entire people leader audience. The group was engaged in Jamil’s thoughts on empathy and had meaningful conversation during a Q&A segment. As a result, our leaders are eager to implement more empathy into their daily working lives to better connect to their team members.”

Highmark Health

 

“Jamil Zaki was a dynamic and engaging speaker at our 2023 annual conference, The Montessori Event. He was pleasant and generous with his time, chatting with conference attendees after the formal presentation and making himself available to answer questions beyond what was even initially asked. Read More

The Montessori Event

 

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