Milo Wilkinson

award winning behavioural scientist

Recruiters trust their gut every single day - on candidates, on clients, on calls that make or break a placement. But what if that "gut feel" is actually one of the most sophisticated instruments you own, and almost nobody's been taught how to actually use it?


In this electrifying, research-backed keynote, behavioural scientist Milo Wilkinson takes you straight into the engine room of your own mind - the primal, subconscious brain quietly running over 90% of your decisions before you're even aware you've made them. This isn't theory delivered from a stage. It's a live, real-world experiment, with you as both subject and discovery, that will make you question how much of your "instinct" is actually instinct - and how much is pattern, bias, or noise dressed up as intuition.


For an industry built on rapid judgment calls - reading a candidate in minutes, sensing when a deal's about to fall over, knowing which placement will stick - this session reframes instinct as a skill that can be sharpened, not just trusted blindly. You'll walk away with practical, science-grounded strategies to build mental agility under pressure, sharpen your read on people, and turn split-second decisions into a genuine competitive edge.


Equal parts science, spectacle, and self-discovery, Cognitive Alchemy doesn't just teach the brain - it puts it on full display, live, in the room.

Brain 101: Turning Instincts into Peak Performance


Recruiters trust their gut every single day - on candidates, on clients, on calls that make or break a placement. But what if that "gut feel" is actually one of the most sophisticated instruments you own, and almost nobody's been taught how to actually use it?


In this electrifying, research-backed keynote, behavioural scientist Milo Wilkinson takes you straight into the engine room of your own mind - the primal, subconscious brain quietly running over 90% of your decisions before you're even aware you've made them. This isn't theory delivered from a stage. It's a live, real-world experiment, with you as both subject and discovery, that will make you question how much of your "instinct" is actually instinct - and how much is pattern, bias, or noise dressed up as intuition.


For an industry built on rapid judgment calls - reading a candidate in minutes, sensing when a deal's about to fall over, knowing which placement will stick - this session reframes instinct as a skill that can be sharpened, not just trusted blindly. You'll walk away with practical, science-grounded strategies to build mental agility under pressure, sharpen your read on people, and turn split-second decisions into a genuine competitive edge.



Equal parts science, spectacle, and self-discovery, Cognitive Alchemy doesn't just teach the brain - it puts it on full display, live, in the room.