Dr. Brian Bates teaches one of the most highly rated and sought-after university courses in England. Called Shamanic Consciousness, it deals with mind-management techniques all the way from tribal ritual to leading edge neuroscience. He is an expert in helping people to use the power of their imagination to bring about radical improvements in performance. Invited to apply his unique approach at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he trained and directed in performance some of the world's leading actors, including such stars and Oscar winners as Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Fiennes, and Sean Bean.

Educated at the University of California, Brian researched creativity at Stanford Research Institute and then Cambridge University, England. As Chair of the Psychology department at Sussex University he published applications of imagination in scientific and medical journals, and also wrote six books including the international best-selling novel The Way of Wyrd. He is now applying his approaches to issues in the business world.

In 2002, he was appointed Senior Adviser to the Ford Foundation's research program into worldwide indigenous knowledge. His brief is to work with tribal peoples to document their advanced techniques of vivid imagination, and to develop applications consonant with the cutting edge of western psychological science.

Brian Bates is currently Professor of Psychology in the Business School at the University of Brighton, Director of the Imagination Systems Project at the University of Sussex, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His work is widely featured in the press and media.

Brian Bates and John Cleese met fifteen years ago, at a Cambridge University research retreat convened to discuss Brian's book on the inner techniques of actors, The Way of the Actor. Since then they have worked together on a series of research enquiries. Their most recent collaboration was on The Human Face, a project that resulted in the Emmy-nominated television documentary series and the best-selling book.

A Dialogue on Creativity

This program has been a long time coming as Bates and Cleese have been working together on the subject of creativity for a number of years. From their collaborative efforts A Dialogue on Creativity has emerged and evolved as an intimate conversation regarding the practical applications, thought processes and institutional challenges facing creative thinkers in the modern age.

A Dialogue on Creativity combines the most current research, Cleese's experiential knowledge, plus a number of interactive exercises geared towards unleashing each individual's creative abilities. Bates and Cleese, two of the foremost subject matter experts in the area of creativity, will offer audiences insights, examples and anecdotes that will challenge conventional wisdom on the topic. Given their varied backgrounds, A Dialogue on Creativity can be adapted to all audience types.

The program is typically 120 minutes in duration, which includes a 30-minute question and answer session.