Resilience workshop
Wise, UCL and Tata
"A brilliant and creative way to overcome the negative thinking many of us get stuck in."UCL Resilient Mindset Challenge, 2025
Mainstream doesn't work
Behaviour change
through immersive
experiences
Some things can't be taught. They have to be felt.
Interactive workshops with actors · Award-winning · London · Milan · Berlin
Real change happens under the skin
Real change happens on an emotional level. Our experiences get under the skin, and they're fun. Because people remember what makes them feel alive.
Sidestream is a behaviour change consultancy that trains teams in the room, through live practice with actors. We combine organisational psychology with techniques from immersive theatre. Forget questionnaires, tick-box exercises and passive learning.
Our products
Our workshops
Six ready-made workshops, each run as an interactive workshop with actors. Half a day to two days, for 5 to 30 people. We tailor the scenarios to your organisation.
Workshop 01Management TrainingFeedback, delegation and the conversations managers avoid, practised with actors.See the workshop
Workshop 02Psychological Safety & Team CollaborationTeams practise speaking up, admitting mistakes and challenging ideas.See the workshop
Workshop 03Resilience & AdaptabilityReframe setbacks and switch perspective under pressure.See the workshop
Workshop 04Creativity & IdeationBreak habitual thinking and come up with new ideas on the spot.See the workshop
Workshop 05Presentation & Public SpeakingSpeak without notes and keep the room with you.See the workshop
Workshop 06Strategy & Decision SimulationsTeams compete in a scenario game where every decision has a cost.See the workshop
Half a day to two days · 5 to 30 people · in person · optional Follow-up Simulation after about 90 days
Simulations.
Make people want to play.
Streamer ThingsIt's 2007. Six streaming start-ups, one sceptical Hollywood and a twenty-sided dice.See how it plays
Marvellous IdeasOne hero, one villain, ten minutes to pitch a pilot.See how it plays
The Sellafield SimulationA leak. A region that runs on nuclear. Rival stakeholders, hidden agendas, and a media pack hunting for secrets.See how it plays
The AI in Film SimulationStudios, streamers, unions and tech companies write the rules for AI in film. Every team has a secret.See how it plays
Immersive Events
Immersive learning experiences for conferences and large functions, for up to 300 people.
See Immersive EventsThe surface
What makes us different & where we add value
Most training or e-learning providers deliver outcomes at surface levels 1 & 2.
1
The biased post-event survey
Did you enjoy the training on a scale from 1 to 5? (And most importantly, were the sandwiches any good?)
2
The short-term memory test
Back to school. The dreaded multiple-choice test that you immediately forget. (How many questions can you guess off the bat?)
That is not enough!
We believe in order to drive real behaviour change and deliver real value in organisations, you must go beneath the surface. This is why our method always includes two additional steps.
3
Behaviours
Without behaviours any training is a "tick box" exercise. Change happens through action. That's why we use evidence-based psychological tools and practice-based techniques from the world of immersive theatre.
4
Simulations
Any training that aims to spark behaviour change has to be oriented on real-world applications. That's why we use our award-winning expertise in crafting visceral, realistic and fun simulations, that create lasting impact and memories.
How we work →What makes us different & where we add value
Most training or e-learning providers deliver outcomes at surface levels 1 & 2.
1: The biased post-event survey
Did you enjoy the training on a scale from 1 to 5? (And most importantly, were the sandwiches any good?)
2: The short-term memory test
Back to school. The dreaded multiple-choice test that you immediately forget. (How many questions can you guess off the bat?)
That is not enough!
We believe in order to drive real behaviour change and deliver real value in organisations, you must go beneath the surface. This is why our method always includes two additional steps:
3: Behaviours
Without behaviours any training is a "tick box" exercise. Change happens through action. That's why we use evidence-based psychological tools and practice-based techniques from the world of immersive theatre.
4: Simulations
Any training that aims to spark behaviour change has to be oriented on real-world applications. That's why we use our award-winning expertise in crafting visceral, realistic and fun simulations, that create lasting impact and memories.
Everyone felt ready.
How confident people felt at the end of the study, on a scale of 1 to 7.
How ready they feltBars: how well they actually did
See how we found this →
Sidestream study at UCL, 2020 · 57 professionals took part · figures use complete responses
What happened in the room
Public speaking workshop
A London professional services team
"Good to practise without feeling on the spot."
Strategy simulations
Tata Consultancy Services
Two five-day scenario weeks: the Sellafield Simulation and the AI in Film Simulation.
Immersive learning experiences
The Accused, 2017
53 out of 53would recommend it
"I think being part of something (as opposed to hearing a traditional lecture on all of these things) makes you much more likely to remember what you've learned."
Awards and press
CorpComms Award 2016: The Death of Jane Doe
Created with the Forensic Psychology Unit, with Ben Laumann as creative director.
The judges loved the 'creative approach' to building awareness, describing the event as 'well executed' and 'an excellent mix of theatre and immersive'.
Public Engagement Award 2019: Top of the Cops
As featured in The Psychologist
Who we've worked with
Organisations we've worked with
Metropolitan Police
Wise
Tata Consultancy Services
UCL
University of Cambridge (Judge Business School)
The Innocence Project
Forensic Psychology UnitMetropolitan PoliceWiseTata Consultancy ServicesUCLUniversity of Cambridge (Judge Business School)The Innocence ProjectForensic Psychology UnitYes. We have six ready-made workshops, and we tailor the scenarios to your organisation. For anything else, we design bespoke programmes.
No. Immersive means live, in the room, with professional actors. No headsets.
Workshops work best for 5 to 30 people. Immersive events go up to 300.
At your venue or ours, mostly in the UK and Europe. We're based in London, Milan and Berlin, and work everywhere.
Change
Stop talking at people.
Make the change stick.
A 30-minute call beats anything we could write here. Get in touch today.