Speaking & Workshops
Victor Yocco brings a psychologist's lens to the most urgent questions in AI design: why users resist AI that outperforms them, what happens to trust when systems act autonomously, and how to research products whose behavior changes over time. His talks blend enterprise field research, cognitive science, and practical design frameworks that give audiences something they can apply the next day.
Formats: Keynotes, conference talks (30–60 min), half-day and full-day workshops, panel discussions, fireside conversations, and virtual/webinar presentations.
Audiences: UX researchers and designers, product managers, engineering leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone building or deploying AI products.
Featured Talks
Talk 1
Designing for Delegation
What Changes When AI Acts on Its Own
Agentic AI systems don't wait for users to click buttons. They plan, execute, and make decisions independently. For UX teams, this changes everything: the core design challenge shifts from usability to trust, the research methods that worked for static systems fall short, and deeply human cognitive biases determine whether adoption succeeds or stalls.
In this talk, I draw on my enterprise research with AI-assisted systems and established behavioral economics research to explain why the people who resist AI delegation the most are often your highest performers (not your laggards), why framing AI as "more efficient" backfires with the people who matter most, and what a psychologically informed approach to AI design actually looks like in practice. Audiences leave with a framework for diagnosing delegation resistance and specific design interventions they can apply to their own products.
❏ Best for: UX and product teams adopting agentic AI; leadership audiences making AI adoption decisions
❏ Format: Keynote or conference talk (30–60 min); adaptable as a half-day workshop with hands-on exercises
Talk 2
The Psychology of Generative UI
Adapting Without Disorienting
The promise of generative UI is that interfaces should adapt to context, showing each user the right tools at the right moment. The problem is that the human brain depends on predictability to function efficiently, and an interface that reorganizes itself, no matter how intelligently, breaks the mental models that make expert performance possible.
This talk introduces two original concepts: "adaptation load" (the hidden cognitive tax of figuring out what changed in the interface) and "adaptation anxiety" (the low-level vigilance users maintain when they can't trust the interface to stay put). I walk through the research on why predictability sometimes matters more than accuracy, explain why generative UI helps novices while disrupting experts, and present five evidence-grounded design principles for building AI-generated interfaces that adapt without stripping away the user's sense of competence and control.
❏ Best for: UX designers and front-end teams building adaptive or AI-generated interfaces; design system teams
❏ Format: Conference talk (30–45 min); also available as an interactive workshop
Talk 3
Researching the Moving Target
UX Methods for AI That Learns Over Time
Traditional usability testing assumes the system under study holds still between testing and implementation. Agentic AI systems violate that assumption. They learn from user data, adapt their behavior over time, and develop unique interaction patterns with each user. The product you tested last quarter is not the same product your users are experiencing today.
In this talk, I share three research methods I've developed for studying these systems in enterprise settings: modified diary studies that track both the user's experience and the AI's evolving behavior in parallel, a longitudinal trust measurement framework that captures how trust builds and erodes across repeated interactions, and "relationship arc" research that maps the psychological journey from first encounter through established collaboration or abandonment. Each method includes practical guidance on study design, timing, and how to present longitudinal findings to product teams accustomed to snapshot research.
❏ Best for: UX researchers working on AI products; research ops leaders; anyone designing studies for systems that change
❏ Format: Conference talk (30–45 min); best as a half-day workshop where participants design their own study
Designing the Human-AI Handoff
A Psychology-Based Workshop for UX and Product Teams
This half-day workshop gives your team a practical, evidence-grounded approach to designing AI systems that users actually trust. Participants work through hands-on exercises including mental model mapping for AI systems, trust calibration assessments, delegation bias diagnosis using real scenarios, and the design of audit interfaces that support genuine (not performative) human oversight.
The workshop draws on cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, and real enterprise field research. It is designed for cross-functional teams: UX researchers, designers, product managers, and engineering leads all benefit from working through these exercises together.
Signature Workshop
❏ Duration: Half-day (3–4 hours) or full-day (with expanded case studies and team exercises)
❏ Delivery: In-person or virtual; available for conferences (pre-conference workshop) or in-house corporate delivery
❏ Participants: Ideal group size: 15–40 participants
❏ What teams leave with: A delegation bias diagnostic for their own product, a trust measurement framework they can implement immediately, and a set of design principles for human-AI handoff tailored to their specific use case
❏ Materials: Participants receive a digital workbook and reference guide (based on Designing Agentic AI Experiences)
Where Victor Has Spoken
Conferences and Events:
Below are select examples of conferences and events Victor has spoken at in the past:
ConveyUX
Beyond the Like Button: Incorporating Social Identity Theory into Design
MinneWebCon
Teach Them Well: Applying Key Principles of Learning to Design
Penn State University Web Conference
Treating Users as Learners: Incorporating Principles of Andragogy into Design
BigDesign Conference
Psychology & Design
2016 IA Summit
Workshop & Session Presenter
2016 UXPA Conference
Workshop & Session Presenter
AlterConf Minneapolis
It Shouldn't Come With the Job: Addressing the Culture of Alcohol Use and Abuse in Design and Tech
Booster Conference
Psychology & Design for digital products
Full Stack Toronto
Psychology & Design for the Web
Interdisciplinary Interaction Design Conference (IIDCON)
Design & Psychology
PANMA
Hiring for Culture Panel
NoVA UX
Designing with Psychology
World IA Day Philadelphia
Organizer & Speaker
PhillyCHI
Think Fast: Using Heuristics to Increase Use of Your Product
IA Summit Chicago
Learning About Your Users: Introduction to User Research (Workshop)
UX Burlington
Keynote: Designing for Short Attention Spans
Podcasts:
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Seaworthy (Headway)
Ep. 6: Psychology and Behavioral Design (ft. Victor Yocco)
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The WorkLife Podcast
Victor Yocco - the WorkLife podcast
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The Content Experience Show
Driving Conversions Through User Experience
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Your Creative Push
033: Does alcohol hold back your creativity? (w/ Victor Yocco)
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Standout Creatives
89: Victor Yocco on Tailoring Your Message, Finding Support
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The eLearning Coach
ELC 034: Psychology, Behavior and Design
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Hanselminutes
Episode featuring Victor Yocco on alcohol abuse in tech
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Systematic (Brett Terpstra)
Ep. 161: UX Research and Alcohol in Tech
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UI Breakfast Podcast
Episode 28: Psychological Principles of Persuasive Design with Victor Yocco
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The Busy Creator Podcast
Episode featuring Victor Yocco
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User Defenders
017: The value of the theory is in the application with Victor Yocco
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Hustle The Funsize Show
Design for the Mind (feat. Victor Yocco)
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How to be Awesome at Your Job
033: Making and Breaking Habits through Design with Victor Yocco
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The Joe Pardo Show
Speaker, Author and Research Director Victor Yocco
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Stop Riding the Pine
Ep. 106: Victor Yocco – Understanding Customer Experience
Invite Victor to Your Event
Available for conference keynotes, talks, panel discussions, workshops, webinars, and podcast interviews. Whether you're running a UX meetup or an enterprise AI summit, let's talk about how to make your event more valuable for your audience.
Victor typically responds to speaking inquiries within 48 hours. For urgent requests, email victoryocco@gmail.com directly.