Emotionally Resonant: Why Rational and Competent Ideas Often Fail to Spread, but Emotion Persists

Leaders operate in an age of informational excess. Yet most of this material travels only a short distance: it is read, acknowledged and then quietly set aside. This is not due to a lack of intelligence or attention, but a misunderstanding of how ideas move between people. In an information-rich environment, logic alone seldom compels anyone to repeat, champion or act. What moves between people is what moves them internally: emotion, resonance, curiosity and recognition. This explains why certain messages spread through organisations, markets and societies, while others, however sensible, remain static.

The principle is simple yet often overlooked: people do not share ideas simply because they make sense; they share them because the ideas evoke feelings worth passing on.

How People Actually Behave

Much executive communication assumes that people behave as purely analytical processors of information. Present facts clearly, show the logic, and alignment is expected to follow, a comforting but frequently flawed assumption.

Research in behavioural economics, psychology and neuroscience demonstrates that much human judgment and action is driven by intuition, emotion and social context. Daniel Kahneman’s distinction between fast and slow thinking illustrates this clearly. Sharing behaviour primarily occurs in the fast system, instinctive, affective and relational.

In everyday life, this is apparent. People rarely recount flawless arguments to friends or colleagues; they share moments, something that surprises, irritates, delights or makes them feel understood. The emotional charge is essential, forming the engine of transmission.

This predates digital media: political movements, religious revivals, revolutions and social reforms have always spread through stories, symbols and moral frames rather than abstract reasoning. The medium may change, but the human mechanism remains consistent.

Sharing as Social Signalling

Sharing is never a neutral act; it is a form of social signalling. When someone shares an idea, they are seldom saying, “This is correct.” More often, they are signalling, “This reflects me”, “This is how I see the world” or “This is what I care about.” Sharing enables people to express identity, values and a sense of belonging.

This explains why messages that are technically accurate but emotionally inert struggle to spread. They offer little social utility and do not allow the sharer to signal insight, humour, conviction or affiliation.

Connection Over Correctness

Another important observation is that humans often prioritise connection over correctness. Information that is relatable, emotionally true, or personally meaningful often outperforms objectively superior but emotionally distant information. This explains why stories resonate more than statistics, why anecdotes linger longer than analysis, and why myths endure even after being disproved.

Philosophy and Meaning

At a deeper level, the dominance of emotion reflects a philosophical truth. Humans do not seek information in isolation. They seek meaning.

We are narrative beings. We understand ourselves and our world through stories that integrate fact, value and emotion. Logic is a tool within that process, not its foundation.

Pure rationality answers the question of how. Emotion connects ideas to why. Messages that resonate emotionally feel meaningful before they are analysed. Messages that only make sense are often accepted intellectually and forgotten.

Leadership, at its core, is an act of meaning-making. Strategy, vision and culture are collective narratives about direction and purpose, not engineering problems to be optimised.

Practical Guidance for Leaders

Before presenting the logic, consider the emotional question your audience is implicitly asking. Are they anxious about risk, proud of past successes, frustrated by inertia, or sceptical of change?

Abstract reasoning gains traction when grounded in concrete examples. Translate implications into moments people recognise, a decision they have faced, a frustration they share, or a trade-off they encounter daily. Avoid closing every loop. Pose a compelling question, highlight a choice, or point to an unresolved implication. Curiosity invites engagement and onward sharing.

The challenge for leaders is not to abandon logic, but to embed it within a human frame. A perfectly rational proposal can be made more powerful without becoming manipulative or simplistic. The following principles offer practical guidance.

1. Start with the human question, not the solution
Before presenting the logic, identify the emotional question your audience is asking, often implicitly. Are they anxious about risk, proud of past success, frustrated by inertia, or sceptical of change? Addressing this emotional context first creates receptivity.

2. Anchor the idea in lived experience
Abstract reasoning gains traction when grounded in concrete examples. Translate implications into moments people recognise: a decision they have faced, a frustration they share, a trade-off they feel daily.

3. Make the stakes explicit
Rational proposals often underplay consequence. Clarify what is gained, what is lost, and what remains unresolved. Stakes generate emotional energy and focus attention.

4. Create a narrative arc
Even technical proposals benefit from narrative structure: a starting point, a tension or challenge, and a direction of travel. This gives people a story they can remember and retell.

5. Leave space for curiosity
Do not close every loop. Pose a compelling question, highlight a choice, or point to an unresolved implication. Curiosity invites engagement and onward transmission.

6. Signal identity and values
Make clear what believing or supporting this idea says about the organisation or the individual. People share what helps them express who they are or who they aspire to be.

7. Preserve credibility through clarity
Emotion amplifies logic. It does not replace it. Be precise, honest and proportionate. Emotional resonance without substance erodes trust quickly.

The Essential Truth

Shareability depends less on sense and more on sensation. We pass on what moves us, not what merely makes sense. This is not a flaw in human nature. It is a feature of how we connect, communicate and create shared meaning.

For leaders, the task is to respect reason while engaging emotion, to frame truth in a form that people can carry and share. In a world saturated with information, the ideas that spread are not those that explain everything, but those that make people feel something worth passing on.

Leaders who recognise this dynamic and craft communication that engages emotionally, socially and cognitively will see their ideas travel farther, linger longer, and create meaningful impact.