Years ago, on vacation, as I read 2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson a phrase stopped me cold. I had to dog-ear the page. “Reason can’t work without emotion. People who are cut off from their emotions can’t decide.”
Reason can’t work without emotion.
People who are cut off from their emotions can’t decide.
So, ok, this is fiction. But some real-world research backs it up.
An article in the MIT Technology Review is an interview with neuroscientist Antonio Demasio. He found that “consciousness… emerges from emotions and feelings.”
Demasio studied patients with brain lesions that made them unable to experience emotions. Though they had no other impairment, he found they were unable to make good decisions.
Feelings begin with basic physiological changes, like our heart rate or facial expressions.
Then the brain picks up on these changes and, based on learned associations, interprets them as emotions. We associate these emotions with their triggers and with the outcomes of our past decisions.
You’ve experienced this yourself when faced with a choice that to your head seems right – but your gut screams “NO!”
As fundraisers, we know to focus on feelings when trying to reach donors and prospective donors. It’s easy to think that marshaling a list of logical reasons to give would be most persuasive. But we know that’s not the case. Emotions rule.
Here’s what really struck me. Emotions are not just the better way to move people to action…
Without emotion, we find it hard to act at all.
Think about it: there’s safety in reason. You only need to work out the logic. You don’t need to risk your heart spilling all over the page. And I think we’re all trained in school to write persuasive papers using reason and logic.
But, but, but… if you’re trying to persuade someone to make a gift, it begins with feelings. How do they feel about your organization? How do they feel when they learn someone needs their help? Can you build a bridge between your reader and that someone?
A safe, logical explanation won’t do the job.
If your goal is to move people to action, then you’d better work at triggering emotions.
Bottom line?
You’ll need to reach people in their guts before they’ll reach into their wallets.
Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire
It’s amazing what we can learn in the most unusual places Mary. Another wonderful post – thank you!
Diana
Thank you! I guess that’s why we read though – even for fun, there’s something to learn.