# Emotion: Engineering High-Arousal Feelings That Drive Sharing

When we care, we share. But not all emotions are created equal. High-arousal emotions — both positive and negative — drive sharing, while low-arousal emotions suppress it. The difference between content that spreads and content that dies is not whether it makes people feel good or bad, but whether it fires them up or brings them down.

## The Arousal Framework

The critical distinction is not positive vs. negative, but high-arousal vs. low-arousal. Arousal is a state of physiological activation — elevated heart rate, tightened muscles, a sense of readiness for action. High-arousal states create a need to share, talk, and act. Low-arousal states create withdrawal, passivity, and silence.

### The Emotion-Sharing Matrix

| | **High Arousal (Drives Sharing)** | **Low Arousal (Suppresses Sharing)** |
|---|---|---|
| **Positive** | Awe, Excitement, Amusement, Humor, Inspiration, Surprise | Contentment, Relaxation, Satisfaction, Calm, Serenity |
| **Negative** | Anger, Anxiety, Outrage, Fear, Disgust, Frustration | Sadness, Melancholy, Disappointment, Grief, Boredom |

### Why This Matrix Matters

Most marketers think of emotion as a simple positive/negative spectrum. They assume positive = shareable and negative = avoid. This is wrong.

**Counter-intuitive truths:**
- Sad content (positive intent, like charity ads) often fails to spread because sadness is low-arousal — people feel deflated and withdrawn, not activated
- Angry content (negative valence) often spreads widely because anger is high-arousal — people feel fired up and compelled to act
- Content that makes people feel content and satisfied generates almost no sharing — there's no urgency to act
- Awe-inspiring content is the single most shared type because awe is both positive and extremely high-arousal

### Detailed Emotion Profiles

| Emotion | Arousal Level | Valence | Sharing Impact | Example Content |
|---------|--------------|---------|---------------|-----------------|
| **Awe** | Very high | Positive | Very high sharing | "This time-lapse of Earth from space..." |
| **Excitement** | High | Positive | High sharing | Product launch reveals, surprise announcements |
| **Amusement** | High | Positive | High sharing | Clever humor, unexpected twists |
| **Inspiration** | High | Positive | High sharing | Human triumph stories, against-all-odds narratives |
| **Anger** | Very high | Negative | Very high sharing | Injustice revealed, unfair treatment exposed |
| **Anxiety** | High | Negative | High sharing | Urgent threats, time-sensitive warnings |
| **Surprise** | High | Varies | High sharing | Unexpected facts, plot twists, reveals |
| **Contentment** | Low | Positive | Low sharing | Peaceful imagery, status quo confirmation |
| **Sadness** | Low | Negative | Very low sharing | Loss stories, tragedy without resolution |
| **Boredom** | Very low | Negative | No sharing | Predictable, routine information |

## Awe Engineering

Awe is the most powerful sharing emotion. It is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current frame of reference. Awe makes people feel small in the best way — connected to something larger than themselves — and that feeling is so powerful they need to share it.

### What Triggers Awe

| Awe Trigger | Description | Example |
|------------|-------------|---------|
| **Physical vastness** | Enormous scale, panoramic views | Grand Canyon, space imagery, aerial footage |
| **Intellectual vastness** | Mind-expanding ideas, paradigm shifts | "What if everything you knew about X was wrong?" |
| **Talent/Skill** | Extraordinary human ability | Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent audition |
| **Beauty** | Profound aesthetic experience | Time-lapse nature films, architectural marvels |
| **Virtue** | Extraordinary moral acts | Strangers helping strangers, self-sacrifice |
| **Supernatural/Unexplained** | Things that defy understanding | Optical illusions, magic tricks, scientific mysteries |

### Awe Engineering Techniques

**Technique 1: Scale Revelation.** Start with something familiar and zoom out (or in) to reveal an unexpected scale. "This is a single cell. This is what it looks like magnified 10,000 times..."

**Technique 2: The Unexpected Expert.** Present someone who defies expectations and then delivers extraordinary performance. Susan Boyle looked unassuming; her voice was astonishing. The contrast amplifies awe.

**Technique 3: The Vast Implication.** Take a small fact and show its enormous implications. "Every 60 seconds, [X] happens. That means by the time you finish reading this..."

**Technique 4: Time Compression/Expansion.** Show slow processes sped up (time-lapse of a city being built) or fast processes slowed down (slow-motion hummingbird flight). Altered time perception triggers awe.

**Technique 5: The Human Achievement.** Showcase what a single person (or small team) accomplished against impossible odds. "She built this entire bridge by hand over 20 years."

### Awe Content Checklist

- [ ] Does the content reveal something vastly larger or more complex than expected?
- [ ] Is there a moment of "I had no idea..." or "How is that possible?"
- [ ] Does it make the viewer feel connected to something bigger than themselves?
- [ ] Is the awe genuine (not manufactured or exaggerated)?
- [ ] Does the awe resolve positively (leaving people inspired, not paralyzed)?

## Humor Design Principles

Humor is a high-arousal positive emotion and a powerful sharing driver. But humor is also risky — failed humor is worse than no humor. Here are principles for designing humor that works.

### Types of Humor That Drive Sharing

| Humor Type | Mechanism | Best For | Risk Level |
|-----------|-----------|----------|-----------|
| **Incongruity** | Unexpected pairing or twist | Product demos, ads | Low |
| **Superiority** | Feeling smarter than someone/something | Memes, competitive positioning | Medium |
| **Relief** | Breaking tension in a stressful topic | Finance, health, B2B | Low |
| **Self-deprecation** | Brand laughing at itself | Building authenticity | Medium |
| **Absurdity** | Escalating illogic | Viral content, brand personality | High |
| **Observational** | "So true" recognition humor | Social media content, email campaigns | Low |

### Humor Design Rules

**Rule 1: The humor must serve the message.** If people laugh but can't remember the product, the humor failed. The funny element should be inseparable from the product benefit. Blendtec's "Will It Blend?" is funny *because* of the blender's power — the humor and the product claim are one.

**Rule 2: Punch up, not down.** Humor at the expense of vulnerable groups generates backlash, not shares. Punch up at powerful targets (big competitors, universal frustrations, absurd industry norms).

**Rule 3: Test ruthlessly.** Humor is subjective. What's hilarious to your team may fall flat with your audience. Test with small groups before scaling.

**Rule 4: Keep it simple.** The best viral humor can be understood in seconds and retold in one sentence. "They blended an iPhone" is a one-sentence joke that carries the entire brand message.

**Rule 5: Build a series, not a one-off.** A single funny piece is a moment. A series (like "Will It Blend?") builds anticipation, recognition, and a catalog of shareable content.

### Humor Integration Framework

| Product Context | Humor Approach | Example |
|----------------|---------------|---------|
| Boring industry | Relief humor — make the mundane funny | Dollar Shave Club "Our blades are f***ing great" |
| Technical product | Absurdity — show extreme use cases | Blendtec blending everything imaginable |
| Premium brand | Self-deprecation — show you don't take yourself too seriously | Luxury brands poking fun at their own exclusivity |
| Commodity product | Observational — "we all know this is true" | Old Spice absurdist takes on deodorant marketing |

## Emotional Framing

The same information can be presented in ways that evoke different emotions — and therefore different sharing behaviors. Emotional framing is the art of choosing which emotion to activate.

### Framing the Same Story

**The fact:** "A company donated $1 million to clean water initiatives."

| Frame | Emotion Evoked | Arousal | Shareability |
|-------|---------------|---------|-------------|
| "Clean water is still unavailable to 2 billion people" | Sadness | Low | Low |
| "One company just proved that $1M can bring water to 500,000 people" | Awe/Inspiration | High | High |
| "While big corporations spent millions on Super Bowl ads, this company spent it on saving lives" | Anger at others / Admiration | High | Very High |
| "Watch what happened when a village got clean water for the first time" | Awe / Joy | High | Very High |
| "Clean water access improved slightly in developing regions" | Contentment | Low | Very Low |

**The lesson:** The facts don't change. The emotion changes based on framing. Always choose the high-arousal frame.

### Emotional Reframing Techniques

| Technique | How It Works | Before (Low Arousal) | After (High Arousal) |
|-----------|-------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| **Personalize** | Make it about one person, not statistics | "Millions are affected" | "Meet Sarah, who..." |
| **Contrast** | Show the gap between expectation and reality | "Things are getting better" | "We think X is true, but actually..." |
| **Urgency** | Add time pressure | "This is a problem" | "In the next 60 seconds, [Y] will happen" |
| **Empower** | Show what the audience can do | "This is happening" | "Here's what you can do about it right now" |
| **Scale revelation** | Make abstract numbers concrete | "50 million tons of waste" | "That's enough to fill [landmark] 10 times" |

## The Emotional Audit

Use this audit to evaluate the emotional impact of any content, campaign, or product experience.

### Step 1: Identify the Dominant Emotion

Watch, read, or experience the content. What emotion do you feel most strongly? Name it specifically (not just "positive" or "negative").

### Step 2: Map It on the Arousal Spectrum

| Your Dominant Emotion | Arousal Level | Sharing Prediction |
|----------------------|---------------|-------------------|
| Awe, amazement | Very high | Will be shared widely |
| Excitement, anticipation | High | Will be shared with enthusiasm |
| Amusement, humor | High | Will be shared for social bonding |
| Anger, outrage | Very high | Will be shared with urgency |
| Anxiety, concern | High | Will be shared as warning |
| Surprise | High | Will be shared as "Did you see this?" |
| Contentment | Low | Will not be shared — no urgency |
| Sadness | Low | Will not be shared — people withdraw |
| Indifference | None | Dead on arrival |

### Step 3: If Low Arousal, Reframe

If your content evokes low-arousal emotions, apply the reframing techniques above. Find the high-arousal angle without changing the core message.

### Step 4: Verify Brand Integration

High arousal alone is not enough. The emotion must be connected to your brand or product. Ask: "Would removing the brand from this content change the emotional experience?" If no, the emotion is generic and won't drive brand-specific word-of-mouth.

## Testing Emotional Arousal

### Quick Test Methods

| Method | How It Works | What to Measure |
|--------|-------------|-----------------|
| **Physiological proxy** | Ask testers to squeeze a handgrip while consuming content. High-arousal content produces stronger grip | Grip strength correlates with arousal |
| **Share intent** | After consuming content, ask: "Would you share this? With whom? Right now?" | Immediacy of intent = arousal indicator |
| **Physical response observation** | Watch for leaning forward, widened eyes, verbal exclamations | Physical activation = high arousal |
| **The "pause" test** | Does the person pause what they're doing to fully engage? | Interruption of routine = strong arousal |
| **The "retell" test** | Within 5 minutes, does the person tell someone else about it? | Spontaneous sharing = high arousal confirmed |

### A/B Testing Emotional Frames

| Test Variable | Version A | Version B | Metric |
|--------------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Headline emotion | Informational (low arousal) | Awe-inducing (high arousal) | Share rate |
| Opening frame | Statistics-led | Story-led | Watch time + shares |
| CTA emotion | Rational ("Learn more") | Urgent ("Don't miss this") | Click-through + forwards |
| Visual tone | Calm, professional | Dynamic, surprising | Engagement + sharing |

## Exercises

### Exercise 1: Emotion Mapping

Take your last 10 pieces of content (emails, posts, ads, features). For each, identify the dominant emotion and rate its arousal level. How many fall in the high-arousal zone? Reframe the low-arousal pieces.

### Exercise 2: Awe Inventory

List 5 things about your product, industry, or customer results that are genuinely awe-inspiring. For each, design a content piece that reveals the awe through one of the engineering techniques above.

### Exercise 3: The Reframe Challenge

Take one piece of content that performs poorly. Identify its emotional frame. Rewrite it in three different high-arousal frames (awe, humor, anger). Test all three and compare sharing rates.

### Exercise 4: Arousal Calibration

Gather 5 people. Show them 10 pieces of content (mixed arousal levels). For each, ask them to rate (1-10): "How activated do you feel?" and "Would you share this right now?" Plot the correlation. Use this calibration to predict future content performance.
