How To Be Insightful

How do we advance? As individuals, families, and businesses? As societies, nations, and a species? In a world where it's said there is nothing new under the sun, we humans are remarkably resourceful at creating new things. The key to innovation is understanding, but not just by using facts, data, and casual observations. Progress demands the profound and useful understanding of a person or a thing, a situation or an issue. And profound and useful understanding that truly effects change is that most elusive of phenomena: insight. How To Be Insightful provides a novel and deeply practical framework that anyone can use to generate more powerful and impactful insights from the increasing volumes of data we all face every day, whatever we do. The framework - the STEP Prism of Insight - has been developed through decades of both practice and training, and the book includes many exercises designed to help strengthen and develop readers' insight muscles. The book explains the history, psychology, and neuroscience of insight and includes snapshots of insight from international experts in many different fields - psychology and neuroscience, music and acting, forensic science and market research.

Sam Knowles is a data storyteller with 30 years' experience helping businesses communicate with more impact. A classicist with a psychology doctorate, he helps organizations to talk "Human". He's the author of Narrative by Numbers (2018) from Routledge.

Acknowledgements and inspirations Preface 1 What is insight? Interview: Jem Fawcus, Firefish 2 The history and psychology of insight Interview: Stephen Johns, Royal College of Music 3 The neuroscience of insight Interview: Baroness Susan Greenfield 4 How To Be Insightful Interview: the actors Peter Firth and Alexandra McKibbin 5 Sweat - the research phase Interview: Eric Bartels, Inner Why 6 Timeout - the thinking phase Interview: Professor Angela Gallop, Strathclyde University 7 Eureka - the enlightenment phase Interview: Ricard Sapiro, Agência de Branding, São Paulo 8 Prove - the testing phase Interview: Dr Peter Collett, University of Oxford 9 How to be more insightful Where to find out more Index