Mainstream doesn't work

Behaviour change
through immersive
experiences

Some things can't be taught. They have to be felt.

Award-winning immersive experiences · 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.

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 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 →

Iceberg with four levels: 1 the biased post-event survey and 2 short-term memory above the waterline, 3 behaviours and 4 simulations below it

What the jury said

53 out of 53would recommend it

Audience survey, The Accused, 2017

"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."
"It was devastating to hear that my verdict led to someone being hanged, it felt awful hearing the sentence."
"Using a real trial was inspired. I loved the use of court records and real transcripts. Life is better than fiction."

The Accused →

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 logoMetropolitan Police
Wise logoWise
Tata Consultancy Services logoTata Consultancy Services
UCL logoUCL
University of Cambridge (Judge Business School) logoUniversity of Cambridge (Judge Business School)
The Innocence Project logoThe Innocence Project
Forensic Psychology Unit
Metropolitan Police logoMetropolitan Police
Wise logoWise
Tata Consultancy Services logoTata Consultancy Services
UCL logoUCL
University of Cambridge (Judge Business School) logoUniversity of Cambridge (Judge Business School)
The Innocence Project logoThe Innocence Project
Forensic Psychology Unit

FAQ

Common
questions

Yes. 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.

Start changing
how they behave

A 30-minute call beats anything we could write here. Get in touch today.