A great course, masterfully delivered and rich with practical insights.
Rohit
Online Influence Power Course participant, 2025
Free live masterclass series
2400 Years of Persuasion
How to Use It Faster and Easier Today with AI
- Date
- [PUBLIC EVENT DATE]
- Time
- [TIME]
- Timezone
- [TIMEZONE]
- Duration
- [DURATION]
- Format
- Live online
Free registration
Reserve your free seat
Join the first public session in the 2400 Years of Persuasion live series.
Discover how 2,400 years of thinking about persuasion can help you communicate, influence and make better decisions today.
In this new live series, Bas Wouters connects the ideas of approximately 150 influential thinkers, researchers and scientists, from the foundations of rhetoric around 390 BC to modern neuroscience and AI.
Instead of learning isolated principles, you will discover the larger story behind them and learn how to use AI to apply that knowledge faster and more easily.
- Understand where today’s most-used persuasion principles really come from
- Connect rhetoric, psychology, behavioral science, neuroscience and AI
- Discover how major ideas developed, overlapped and challenged each other
- Learn how AI can help you find and apply the right insight at the right moment
- Leave each live session with ideas you can use in real work
Built on proven behavioral science
2,400+
years of ideas
150
important figures across the live series
Multiple
live sessions
Today
made practical with AI
Behavioural science applied at
The big idea
Most persuasion advice starts too late
Modern books, models and online posts often present persuasion principles as separate techniques. But these ideas did not appear out of nowhere.
They are part of a much larger story that stretches across philosophy, rhetoric, psychology, behavioral science, neuroscience and technology.
Understanding that story makes the principles easier to remember, easier to compare and far easier to use responsibly.
One connected line of thinking
Rhetoric
≈ 390 BC
Philosophy
Building on what came before
Psychology
Building on what came before
Behavioral science
Building on what came before
Neuroscience
Building on what came before
AI
Today
The series journey
From ancient rhetoric to AI
- 1
≈ 390 BC
The foundations of persuasion
Around 390 BC, philosophers and teachers began describing how language, credibility, emotion and reasoning shape human decisions.
- 2
Psychology
The rise of psychology
Researchers began examining attention, memory, motivation, learning, attitudes and social behaviour more systematically.
- 3
Behavioral science
Behavioral science and neuroscience
New methods revealed more about automatic decisions, social influence, cognitive biases, emotion and the brain.
- 4
Today
Persuasion in the age of AI
AI now gives us faster access to centuries of knowledge, but using it well still depends on asking the right questions and understanding the ideas behind the output.
The full picture
150 people. One connected story.
Across the full live series, Bas will explore approximately 150 people whose work changed the way we understand persuasion and decision-making.
Some created foundational ideas. Some tested them. Some challenged what came before. Others gave us new ways to observe behaviour, study the brain or work with artificial intelligence.
The purpose is not to memorise 150 biographies. The purpose is to understand the patterns connecting their work and make those ideas easier to use.
See the connections
Understand how important ideas developed and influenced each other.
Choose more wisely
Recognise which principle, model or perspective fits the situation you are working on.
Apply it faster
Use AI to search, compare, translate and apply relevant knowledge without losing the deeper context.
What you will experience
Not a history lecture
Each live session combines explanation, stories, practical examples and AI-supported application.
- The key people and ideas from that part of the timeline
- How their thinking changed our understanding of influence
- Where their ideas still appear in modern models and methods
- How to use AI to apply those insights to a real challenge today
Masterclass preview or series trailer will be added here.
Who this is for
Built for people who use influence professionally
- Marketers and communication professionals
- Leaders and change professionals
- Trainers, speakers and consultants
- Entrepreneurs and business owners
- Behavioural science and psychology practitioners
- People working with AI, content or customer experience
- Professionals who want to influence ethically and effectively
No previous knowledge of psychology or AI is required.
Meet Bas Wouters
Your guide through 2,400 years of persuasion
Bas Wouters has spent many years studying and applying persuasion, translating behavioural science into practical application for organisations and professionals.
- Connects academic thinking with real business challenges
- Co-author of the Online Influence book
- Guides participants through the complete live series
Practical value
What you can do with this
01
Understand a communication challenge more deeply
Move beyond choosing a persuasion principle because it is popular. Understand the thinking behind it and determine whether it fits the situation.
Custom illustration placeholder
02
Use AI without accepting shallow answers
Learn how to ask AI better questions, compare perspectives and trace recommendations back to meaningful theories and research.
Custom illustration placeholder
03
Build a personal persuasion knowledge system
Use the live series as a framework for organising ideas, people, principles and practical applications.
Custom illustration placeholder
Social proof
Learn from a trusted Online Influence expert
The perfect mix between science and application for the online environment. A total must!
Pilar Bringas
Online Influence Power Course participant, 2025
Fantastic. Giving real-world tools to drive results. Explained clearly and simply.
Clive
Online Influence Power Course participant, 2025
The book
Where the method was written down
The Online Influence book helps readers apply behavioural science online. This live series goes deeper into the people and ideas that shaped that knowledge.
- Over 100,000 copies sold worldwide
- Recommended by practitioners in Fortune 500 companies
- The foundation of the Online Influence method
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is the masterclass really free?
Yes. Registration for the live session is free.
Is this one masterclass or a full series?
This is the first session in a larger live series. Each session explores another part of the 2,400-year story.
Will all 150 people be discussed in one session?
No. The approximately 150 figures will be covered across multiple live sessions.
Do I need experience with AI?
No. The AI applications will be explained in a practical and accessible way.
What language will the masterclass be in?
[LANGUAGE — TO BE CONFIRMED]
Will a recording be available?
[RECORDING POLICY — TO BE CONFIRMED]
Does registration also subscribe me to the newsletter?
No. Newsletter subscription is optional and requires the separate checkbox.
Where will the masterclass take place?
It will be delivered live online. The exact access information will be sent to registered participants.
Free live masterclass series
See 2,400 years of persuasion as one connected story
Join the first public live session and discover how centuries of insight can become more useful today with the help of AI.
- Free live online session
- Practical, not a history lecture
- Newsletter subscription is optional
Free registration
Reserve your free seat
Join the first public session in the 2400 Years of Persuasion live series.