Escape the Boring Stuff: Amy Stokes-Waters on Engaging Awareness

This week on The Awareness Angle Interviews… Anthony has a brilliant chat with Amy Stokes-Waters from The Cyber Escape Room Co. They talk about ditching dull training, making awareness genuinely fun, and how escape rooms, storytelling, and a bit of chaos can actually change behaviour. Loads of laughs, loads of good ideas, and a few dodgy password stories thrown in—plus the occasional strong word or two (in the best possible way).Amy brings fresh energy to the security awareness world—cutting through the buzzwords and showing how relatable, interactive, and human training can make a real difference.🔓 Escape the Boring Stuff – Amy breaks down how escape rooms turn passive training into memorable, meaningful experiences.📚 From Storytelling to Swearing – Awareness doesn’t have to be corporate. It just has to connect.🛠️ Lessons from the Hard Way – The founder journey isn’t always smooth, but the bumps come with big takeaways.♻️ Beyond the Annual Box-Tick – Awareness should be continuous, creative, and part of everyday culture.🎯 Phishing Isn’t the Whole Game – Simulations matter, but they’re just one tool. Amy shares what else should be in your kit.📢 Awareness is Marketing – Brand, tone, and message consistency matter. Sell it like you mean it.🧍‍♂️ Security Champions & Culture Change – Find your internal allies and give them the tools to drive change.🤖 Looking Ahead – AI, behavioural science, and why the future of training still needs a human touch.Whether you’re in security, L&D, comms—or just fed up with boring training—this one’s full of practical inspiration and plenty of personality.The Awareness Angle: Interviews is our ongoing series of honest, practical conversations with the people reshaping security culture from the inside out.🕒 Timestamps00:00 Introduction to Amy03:06 Engaging Training Methods: Escape Rooms05:56 The Importance of Relatability in Training09:03 The Journey to Cyber Escape Rooms12:04 Learning Through Engagement14:59 Challenges and Mistakes in the Business17:49 Impactful Moments in Training21:08 The Evolving Security Awareness Landscape24:31 Engaging Security Training through Creative Scenarios25:21 Building a Continuous Learning Framework26:56 Rethinking Phishing Simulations28:41 The Marketing of Security Awareness30:40 Consistency in Messaging and Engagement32:11 The Importance of Brand Voice in Security35:42 Authenticity in Communication38:22 Expanding Horizons: New Ventures in Security Training40:17 The Future of Security Awareness Training💬 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check Out This Episode's Discussion Points⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ riskycreative.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎵 Our Intro & Outro Song (© ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠16! by ⁠falling forever⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)License: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0