This week Alberto sat down with Gavin Stone, a former British intelligence officer with over two decades of experience working across government agencies and international intelligence operations.

Gavin shares what life inside the intelligence world actually looks like, how spies are recruited, trained, and deployed, and why the real work is nothing like the movies.

This episode you will learn:

• How intelligence officers detect lies and stress in real conversations

• Why body language should be read in clusters, not isolated gestures

• How persuasion and manipulation actually work

• Why people are easier to influence when emotions are activated

• How governments and organisations shape narratives

• How to think more critically and protect yourself from manipulation

This is a rare look inside the psychology of intelligence, trust, and influence, and how these skills apply to everyday life.

Follow Gavin:

https://www.instagram.com/gavin_stone1/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-stone-146ab1240

https://www.facebook.com/gavinstoneauthor/

Read Gavin's latest books:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B015HWIKGG

#GavinStone #AlbertoZandi #SpyPodcast #IntelligenceOfficer #BodyLanguage #Lying #MI6 #CIA #TruthOrLie #Polygraph #HumanPsychology #CovertOps

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This week Alberto sat down with Dr Tali Sharot, one of the world’s leading cognitive neuroscientists, Professor at MIT and UCL, and a global authority on optimism, decision making, memory, and influence.

Dr Sharot’s research challenges the idea that humans are rational decision makers. Instead, she explains how optimism bias, emotion, and anticipation shape the choices we make, the memories we form, and the way we respond to information.

This episode turns complex neuroscience into practical insight that applies to work, relationships, learning, and everyday life.

You will learn

• Why optimism is hardwired into the brain and how it affects resilience and success
• How emotion shapes memory more than accuracy or facts
• Why telling people they are wrong rarely changes their behaviour
• How to become more optimistic
• Practical ways to make better decisions and communicate with greater impact

Get Tali's Book, Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always Therehttps://amzn.eu/d/ay0Q0I7

#OptimismBias #NeurosciencePodcast #ThrivingMinds #DrTaliSharot #MentalHealthScience

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This week Alberto sat down with Graham Davies, one of the UK’s leading communication experts, who has advised prime ministers, presidents, CEOs, senior executives, and public figures on how to speak in public and under extreme pressure.

Graham’s work is focused on one core idea, communication is not about talking, it is about taking responsibility for what the audience hears, feels, and remembers.

In this conversation, Graham breaks down why most people lose attention within seconds, why poor preparation destroys credibility, and why speaking is one of the most unnatural human activities we are expected to perform well without training.

This episode applies to boardrooms, interviews, pitches, meetings, dates, and everyday conversations.

You will learn

• Why people stop listening even when the message is strong

• How to structure communication so it lands and is remembered

• How to use pace pauses and eye contact to hold attention

• Why preparation creates confidence and spontaneity

• How to manage nerves and perform under pressure

• How to recover from mistakes without losing credibility

This is a masterclass in communication as a human skill, not a performance trick.

#ThrivingMinds #PublicSpeaking #CommunicationSkills #PresentationSkills #ExecutivePresence #Leadership #Networking #Storytelling #MediaTraining #Confidence #CareerGrowth #AlbertoZandi #GrahamDavies #cambridge

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