Dan Hill
Dan Hill, Ph.D., is an emotional intelligence (EQ) expert whose company, Sensory Logic, has conducted research for over half of the world’s top 100 B2C companies.
Dan Hill, Ph.D., specializes in analyzing emotional dynamics, facial expressions, and personality traits, whether in a business, political or a sports context among other applications. He pioneered the use of facial coding in business, a research tool The Economist has dubbed part of the emerging "facial-industrial complex" as sentient AI technology transforms the world.
For the past 20+ years Dan's company, Sensory Logic, has used facial coding to capture and quantify emotional responses in conducting market research and consulting for more than 50% of the world's top 100 B2C companies. Dan has been a keynote speaker at conferences in over 25 countries and served as a pundit on topics ranging from politicians, athletes, and cultural figures to analyzing England's royal family. He's appeared on NBC's "The Today Show," ABC's "Good Morning, America," CNN, Fox, MSNBC, PBS, CNBC, ESPN, and Tennis Channel. In print, media coverage has ranged from a front-page profile in the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, China Forbes, Fast Company, Politico, and Cosmo. During the 2016 U.S. presidential race, Dan served as a non-partisan columnist for Reuters.
For three years, Dan hosted the podcast “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” on the New Books Network (NBN), the world's largest book review platform. Guests for the show that aired in over 60 countries ranged from Pulitzer prize winning journalists, to business authors, academic experts, and a Guggenheim "genius award" novelist.
As an author of 10 books, Dan is best known for Emotionomics, which features a foreword by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon and was chosen by Advertising Age as a top ten must-read. Other books include Famous Faces Decoded: A Guidebook for Reading Others; First Blush: People's Intuitive Reactions to Famous Art; Two Cheers for Democracy: How Emotions Drive Leadership Style; and About Face: The Secrets of Emotionally Effective Advertising.
Dan received his education at St. Olaf College, Oxford University, Brown University, and Rutgers University. Prior to launching Sensory Logic, Dan had senior roles in state government, at a Fortune 500 company, and with a consulting firm focused on the customer experience (CX).
DECODING FACES: LEARN WHAT PEOPLE CAN’T OR WON’T SAY
The 25 square inches from our eyebrows to chin have been called the most valuable real estate on earth, and for good reason. Not only our four of our five senses located there, the face signifies our gender, race, health and physical attractiveness as well as how we are feeling. During a typical social interaction, people produce on average 101 facial movements per minute—a wealth of information that the business world has to date typically failed to leverage. In this lively, informative and fun talk, Dan takes his audience through the seven emotions of happiness, surprise, anger, fear, sadness, disgust and contempt—with a special emphasis on how not every smile you see means what you may think it does. As an emotional intelligence expert, Dan explains the significance of a variety of expressions in various business situations. From leaders handling vital negotiations to salespeople trying to win a contract or managers securing nonverbal input on what their staff members are feeling and how best to motivate them, Dan’s facial coding skill provides an invaluable, unique tool everyone can use.
TRUST: IS IT YOUR BIGGEST ADVANTAGE OR LARGEST EXPENSE?
Trust has long been called “the emotion of business” and yet you couldn’t tell that from how carelessly companies often manage this vital asset on a day-by-day basis. Across all parts of a company, the ability to build, maintain and (when necessary) regain trust determines both the extent of revenue growth and employee productivity and retention. Capability C Competency; Reliability C Consistency; Caring C Reciprocity; Transparency C Honesty—those are the four pillars of trust that no company can do without. As an emotional intelligence expert, Dan takes you through unique case study examples drawn from his company’s 20+ year history of studying the emotional dynamics at work in applications ranging from MCA and re-orgs, to how a company manages to be both on- message and on-emotion in delivering speeches, sales pitches, and performance reviews.
In A Whole New Mind, I explored the value of facial coding to grasp the emotions that animate and drive our behavior. I’ve known Dan’s work for 20 years by now, having endorsed both his book Emotionomics and his later book Famous Faces Decoded. Whether in prose or in-person, Dan stands ready to share with wit and insights his expertise for audiences like leaders and salespeople who especially need to understand the feelings of people with whom they’re trying to find common ground.
Daniel Pink, author of seven New York Times bestseller and former chief speechwriter for Al Gore
While I know that Dan has spoken to other audiences in-person in the UK and even remotely with great success for colleagues of mine affiliated with the University of Manchester, I know Dan best from being a guest on his podcast “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight.” I’ve devoted my career to improving business practices, especially around mental well-being at work, and am only too happy to report that Dan deeply shares my commitment to this worthy cause. You’ll find Dan both very informed and yet spontaneous and warm hearted, too. Give him the opportunity to delight audiences with his learnings and they won’t come away anything other than delighted, I assure you.
Sir Cary Cooper, knighted by the Queen for “extraordinary contributions to society” (from being the author/editor of over 250 books to past President of the British Academy of Management)
As an expert of the sales process and emotional intelligence, I endorse strongly what Dan can bring to the stage. Any salesperson, no matter their level of experience, will benefit from Dan’s knowledge of which expressions reveal which emotions. It's called reading the room. And in this day and age of in person and virtual selling, these skills are even more important. As a guest on Dan’s podcast. “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight,” I can tell you he’s vivacious, witty, informed, and highly articulate. Most of all, he’s the real deal, which is what everyone is looking for today.
Colleen Stanley, author of Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success; named by Salesforce as one of the 7 most influential sales experts in the 21st century
Homer Simpson is closer to reality in discussing human nature and how and why we behave the way we do than relying on Rodin’s The Thinker sculptor piece for guidance.
Somebody who gets that readily is Dan Hill, whose podcast was a delight to be on. The same guy evident there—an emotional intelligence specialist with a lively, sharp manner to him—is sure to delight audiences. Give him a chance to discuss really, frankly, almost anything from branding to marketing, sales, and the customer experience and you’ll be delighted, too. With 20 years of unique research projects for blue-chip companies to draw on, Dan can dazzle.
John List, author of The Why Axis and University of Chicago professor in behavioral economics
Experiences—my specialty--are inherently emotional experiences, and when it comes to diagnosing such experiences adroitly nobody I know is better equipped to tackle the task and present it well to audiences worldwide than Dan Hill. I endorsed both his book Emotionomics and his follow-up book, Famous Faces Decoded, with zeal because Dan is an excellent communicator, both in prose and in person, as I’ve witnessed in part by being his guest on his podcast Dan Hill’s EǪ Spotlight. I know that he can deliver insights backed by proof from a large backlog of projects completed for blue-chip clients as to what consumers feel in multiple situations and how companies can best address their needs.
Joseph Pine II, coauthor, The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money
As a business futurist and AI expert, I look for broad-minded, creative minds—and spirits—that anticipate the future with verve. As I discovered by appearing as a guest on “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” podcast, Dan is exactly that kind of person. His pioneering role in applying emotional intelligence to innovation is a natural fit given that Dan was raised in a 3M company household, where “innovation” and “quality” were bywords. Want to be engaged by somebody who can combine a humanistic perspective with a focus on sentient AI technology applied to business solutions? Dan is your guy!
Jonathan Brill, #1 Ranked Futurist in the World by Forbes, AI Advisor, author of Rogue Waves
I first encountered Dan Hill 20 years ago when he gave a rousing, highly informative talk to my marketing students at Ohio State. More recently, I’ve been on his podcast “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” and found him to be the same engaging, informed person that he’s always been. What advertising can truly break through the clutter? What imagery works, and why? As somebody whose book Emotionomics was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top ten books of that year, Dan brings unique answers based on his in-depth, emotionally oriented insights. Everybody can profit from Dan’s knowledge.
Roger Blackwell, former Ohio State marketing professor and author of 25 business books
Every now and then, you get lucky in terms of having a great host when you appear on a podcast. That was the case when I appeared on “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight” to discuss my book, Using Behavioral Science in Marketing. We covered so much ground about brands, emotion, loyalty – and the business success they drive. Few people bring as many credentials and delightful insights to this arena as does Dan. Audiences everywhere will no doubt find him the pleasure on stage that I found on air.
Nancy Harhut, winner of over 150 awards for direct and digital marketing effectiveness and among Hatch Top 100 Creative Influencers
Emotionomics
Famous Faces Decoded
What's Trust Got to Do with It?
