KEYNOTES | FIRESIDE CHATS | BOOK SIGNINGS | Q&A
Jennifer is a keynote speaker who draws from two decades of experience at international poker and chess competition. Her themes center around applying game theory and using chess and poker thinking to make better decisions–even if you don’t play yourself.
She has spoken to executive leadership teams, tech CEOs and university audiences, including at Harvard, Yale, MIT and the NYU Game Center. Jennifer has spoken to the Boston Consulting Group and Merrill Lynch about decision making, chess and poker and given a TEDx talk on chess and decision-making. She has delivered talks at the Philadelphia Art Museum, Dali Museum, and Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art about overlap between games, culture and art.
Her writing on decision making, chess and poker has appeared in Time Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Direct speaking inquiries to Jennifer Shahade at jenshahade at gmail dot com or [email protected]
Topics include:
♦ Chess and Decision-Making: In this popular talk, Jennifer speaks about how chess can lead anyone to better decisions, even if they’re not expert players. Drawing from her book, Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chessplayer and Win at Life, she shows you how you can make faster decisions, and think more creatively via the ancient game of chess–even if you never move a single piece.
♦ Decision-Making and Uncertainty: Lessons from the Poker Table Jennifer Shahade uses poker to reveal powerful lessons in negotiation, finance, and decision-making, from managing uncertainty to recognizing when to take risks and when to hold back. Drawing on strategies that have taken her from tournament tables in Prague to London to Las Vegas, she demystifies complex ideas and makes them accessible to any audience, while pulling lessons from her award-winning Wall Street Journal article on poker and failure.
♦ Deciding Under Time Pressure: Chess and poker are masterclasses in making smart decisions under pressure. As an international champion in both arenas, Jennifer Shahade shares how to translate the time-tested strategies of elite players into sharper focus, faster thinking, and better outcomes in business and life. Using insights from the chess clock to the poker table, Jennifer reveals how to find your “flow” more often, avoid the pitfalls of overthinking, and use time constraints as fuel for creativity and clarity. Blending strategy and real-world application, this energizing talk redefines time management.
♦ The Human Still Matters: Thinking for Yourself When AI Knows the Answer The Chess world has reckoned with superhuman AI for 30 years, and the game is more popular than ever. Jennifer summarizes this uncanny reality, explaining how you can use AI to develop pattern recognition, while also knowing how to “turn the computer off” at the right moment. Concepts like the “sandwich method” and “Thinking Sideways” will give you a concrete methods to help monitor your own usage and make sure you’re thinking for yourself.
♦ Art, Chess and Marcel Duchamp: Jennifer talks about chess from the prism of art, with a focus on the chess career and chess-related art of Marcel Duchamp.
