What if you could influence people to say yes without them even realizing why?

That’s where storytelling comes in for founders. It’s the hidden force behind persuasion, tapping into the subconscious before our conscious mind even catches up.

In this issue, I’ll share why emotions are your most persuasive tool, with research on how our brains choose on autopilot.

Plus:

Enjoy this emotional trippy drive. LG

We love to think we’re rational creatures. We pore over spreadsheets. Analyze the data. Compare the options. We tell ourselves that every decision we make is rooted in logic and analysis.

But that’s a comforting illusion. Because the truth is, even the most “rational” decision is powered by emotion.

And if you’re a founder trying to persuade anyone of anything, customers, investors, partners, employees, you can’t afford to ignore this.

Emotions are the key to true influence on others. 

Every day, people make countless choices about what to read, what to buy, and who to trust. We like to believe these choices are made by carefully weighing facts and reasoning. But neuroscience tells a different story.

Antonio Damasio, a professor of neuroscience at the Universtiy of Southern California (USC), studied patients with damage to the part of the brain that processes emotion. 

We make decisions emotionally, often unconsciously, and then use logic to justify them afterward. Consumer research using fMRI brain studies backs this up. When people evaluate brands, they rely primarily on personal feelings and experiences, emotion, over features and facts.

We don’t buy products or ideas because they’re perfectly rational.
We buy them because they feel right.

As a founder, you’re not just selling a product or service. You’re selling the idea that your offering deserves space in someone’s life. That’s not a logical transaction. It’s an emotional commitment. You have to give them a reason to want to commit.

This is where storytelling becomes your most powerful tool. Stories aren’t just delivery mechanisms for information. They’re delivery mechanisms for emotion.

Stories work because they trigger the emotions that drive decisions. They don’t just tell people what you do. They make people care. And that happens at both the conscious and subconscious level.

When you tell a compelling story, you’re not just sharing details. You’re releasing chemicals in the brain: cortisol to focus attention, dopamine to reward and motivate, and oxytocin to create connection and trust. This isn’t marketing fluff. It’s biology.

Stories literally rewire the brain in ways that make people pay attention, believe, and act. That’s why great stories aren’t optional for founders. They’re essential.

Because if you want someone to buy your product, write about your company, take a meeting, or invest, you need them to feel something. And the surest way to make them feel is to tell them a story.

If you want to see this in action, study Scott Harrison of charity: water. He doesn’t just talk about stats on the global water crisis. He tells stories of the people suffering because of it, and those whose lives are transformed when they gain access to clean water.

He pulls you in. He makes you care. That emotional storytelling is a big reason charity: water has raised over $860 million for clean water projects.

Here’s the truth you can’t forget: people don’t make decisions because of your features, your pricing, or your pitch deck design. They make decisions because you made them feel something.

Your job is to tell stories that evoke emotion. Stories that help people see what you see. Stories that make them feel what you feel. Because that’s how you get them to do what you need them to do.

The Formula to Remember:

If you remember nothing else from this issue, remember that. Emotion isn’t a trick. It’s the truth of how humans work. And storytelling is your most powerful tool to harness it.

Here are three lessons you can apply immediately to make your storytelling more emotional, more authentic, and far more persuasive.

1. Emotional Anchors: Connect with What Matters to Them

Great storytellers reference things their audience cares about to create an instant emotional bridge. Whether it’s hometown pride, shared hobbies, or beloved brands, these emotional references make your story personal and relatable. 

2. Motion Equals Emotion: So Start Moving

Masters like Tony Robbins know you can’t separate movement from feeling. When you bring motion to your storytelling, through your face, voice, and body, you amplify emotional impact. Motion energizes you, making your story more alive and dynamic, and transfers that energy to your audience.

Practice how you tell your story. Don’t stay stiff or monotone. Use your face, smile, frown, and widen your eyes. Gesture with your hands. Move around if it feels natural. Even subtle changes in posture and expression can transform your delivery making your audience feel what you feel.

#3. Speak From the Heart

The most compelling storytellers don’t recite, they feel. They tap into their passion, their fears, their dreams, and share from that raw, real place. This is what creates authenticity and emotional resonance. It’s not about being polished, it’s about being true.

Before you share your story, pause. Reconnect with why you’re doing this. Let yourself feel it. The joy, the frustration, the vision. Then speak from that emotional place. Don’t be afraid to let your voice crack or your eyes shine. That authenticity isn’t weakness, it’s the strongest tool you have to move your audience to action.

Our brains spend about 95% of the time on autopilot, relying on unconscious processing to make decisions. Harvard’s Gerald Zaltman found that most choices happen with minimal conscious thought. In one study, participants solved a puzzle eight seconds before they were even aware of the answer! Unconscious processing happens in the background and only delivers the decision to our awareness once it’s made. 

Meaning = Emotions are signals from this subconscious mind, revealing what we truly choose. This approach taps into emotions to speak directly to the brain’s real decision-making center, making it your most persuasive tool.

In this “CHARITY WATER: The story of charity: water // from September Campaign 2011” video, Scott Harrison shows why he’s excels at emotional storytelling. He brings to life the crisis of a billion people without clean water, explains Charity: water’s transparent, impact-driven model, and takes viewers on a journey of hope and change.

In their first five years, they had helped 5 million people, proof of how connecting hearts to a mission can transform the world. 

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