Harnessing Emotion for Social Change

From love and anger, to fear and hope, every emotion is an asset when it comes to sparking action and sustaining support for a cause. We recently had the pleasure of attending the “frank 2020” gathering hosted by the Center for Public Interest Communications. The conference brought together 300 scholars and communications practitioners to share knowledge about the (scientifically-proven!) role that emotion can play in the work of social change.

Here are our top five insights so you, too, can benefit from these advances in the field.

Awe fosters connection and cues up action. Katherine R. Dale’s research on inspirational media illuminates that awe really is awesome. Situated on the “upper reaches of pleasure and the boundary of fear,” awe is a “self-transcendent emotion” that has the ability to take us outside of ourselves and make us more willing to help others. Best of all, these revelatory sensations are possible to experience from media exposure like videos and imagery – which suggests that we, as communicators, have the potential to create these experiences on behalf of our causes.
Don’t underestimate the power of hope. Professor Jennifer Hudson’s research indicates that fundraising appeals that rely on pity and guilt may help bring money in the door, but also make people feel less hopeful and less confident in their ability to make a difference. These “unintended consequences” ultimately hurt other forms of engagement, especially when compared to appeals that instill a sense of empathy and shared experience. Thomas Coombes, a human rights strategist, underscored this effect in his presentation about hope-based communications, which offered examples of how seeds of hope motivate change and give people a sense of belonging.
Engage your audience as a partner and create a win-win. Advocate and behavior designer Edith Asibey offered a new strategy for calls to action: rather than focusing your efforts on convincing people, design actions that help your audience succeed in what they want to do. This audience-centered approach doesn’t mean ignoring your cause’s goals – it’s about bridging values, mission, and motivation to create opportunities for your audience to shine. Steve Lambert, Co-Founder of the Center for Artistic Activism, shared some great examples of rewarding and engaging your audiences in this way in his talk, too.
Aspiration is essential. Researcher Pamela Mejia showed us that narratives acknowledging fear can make campaigns and causes more grounded, relatable, and credible. And these efforts become exponentially more effective when we present passion, commitment, and hope alongside fear. Painting a picture of this so-called “golden horizon” with hope and aspiration was a strategy echoed by Dr. Ezra Markowitz, whose presentation about climate change encouraged us engage the full suite of emotional responses. For example, devastating time-lapse videos and alarming simulations depicting where the environment is headed can indeed stir action, but to truly realize the full potential of our advocates, we must also present the story we want to move towards. In this way, optimism for the future and pride in one’s own role in creating that reality makes people ready to go out into the world and take action.
The “work” of listening is worth it. Did you know that we talk at a rate of 125 words per minute, but we can listen at 200 words per minute (or more)? Our minds are very good at filling in that space when someone else is talking – with assumptions, questions, and feedback. However challenging it is to quiet that inner monologue, focusing our energy on listening opens up possibilities for learning something new while authentically connecting with others. It also helps us more deeply feel the emotion conveyed in someone’s eyes, words, and body language. Thanks to Thayler Pekar for leading a breakout session that invited us to value listening – and each other – in new ways. This was also a great reminder that communications is a two-way street, and how we listen is just as important as what we’re saying.

Ready to hear these researchers and practitioners yourself? Keep an eye on the frank 2020 website, where the full presentations from these speakers (and others!) will be posted soon.