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From the notebook

Appeal to Emotion

Seven things people respond to before they’ve thought it through.

An appeal to emotion is an argument that works on how you feel about something. Ads, speeches and sales pitches all use them, usually a few at once.

This page from an old notebook lists the seven I kept seeing, the seven emotions every face can show, and the things that make people stop responding to any of it. I’ve typed it up below.

Dale P. Deacon · Posted 30 October 2026 · 4 min read

Handwritten notebook page: Appeal to Emotion. Seven appeals (tribalism, authority, fear, comfort, family, pride, justice) with notes, a list of universal emotions with joy and surprise bracketed as humour and fear starred, and a line on the opposition to emotive appeals.
The page, as written.

TL;DR

The seven appeals

  1. 1TribalismPatriotism · Nationalism · Ideology · Religion · Culture
  2. 2AuthorityStrength · Endorsement · Confidence · Experience
  3. 3FearFight or flight · Fear of loss
  4. 4ComfortSafety · Freedom from coercion
  5. 5FamilyPersonal lives · Breadwinning · Children
  6. 6PrideOpportunity · Opulence · Status · Authority
  7. 7JusticeOpposing oppression · Injustice

Tribalism

  • Patriotism
  • Nationalism
  • Ideology
  • Religion
  • Culture

Us and them. The appeal tells you which group you belong to, and that the group wants this. Flags, team colours, scripture, “people like us”.

It’s first on the page, and fear points straight back to it. More on that in number 3.

Authority

  • Strength
  • Endorsement
  • Confidence
  • Experience

Someone who seems to know. That can be a title, a famous face saying yes, or years in the job. Or just a person who never sounds unsure.

Confidence is on the list for that reason. People follow it whether or not it’s been earned.

Fear

Fear starts with fight or flight. On the page I drew an arrow from that down to fear of loss: your job, your savings, your way of life. That’s the version selling and politics reach for most.

  1. Fight or flight
  2. Fear of loss
  3. Look for a strong leader or community

Then a bracket around both: scared people look for a strong leader or a community. Which is authority and tribalism again. Fear rarely works alone. It sends people to the first two.

Comfort

Nothing bad happensSafety

Nobody pushes youFreedom

The page says “safety + freedom from coercion”. It’s the promise that you’ll be fine and nobody will force your hand. Insurance ads run on the first half. “No contract, cancel any time” runs on the second.

Family

  • Personal lives
  • Breadwinning
  • Children

Personal lives: putting food on the table, and the kids. It’s hard to argue against someone who says they’re doing it for their children, which is why so many arguments start there.

Pride

  • Opportunity
  • Opulence
  • Status
  • Authority

The chance to get ahead, and to be seen getting ahead. Nice car, corner office, a title on the door.

Authority turns up twice on the page. Up in number 2 it’s someone you follow. Here it’s the authority you’d get to have.

Justice

Opposing oppression + injustice

Someone is being wronged, and you can do something about it. Every protest sign uses this one, and so do most campaign speeches. The other side usually does too.

Try it

Spot the appeal

Seven made-up slogans, one for each appeal. Guess first, then tap to check.

“Only three left at this price.”

Fear. Fear of loss. Wait and you miss out.

“You’ve earned this.”

Pride. Status. The reward is how it makes you look.

“Proudly South African.”

Tribalism. Buy it because people like you do.

“They’ve had it their way for long enough.”

Justice. Somebody is getting away with something.

“Recommended by dentists.”

Authority. Endorsement. Somebody who should know says yes.

“No contract. Cancel any time.”

Comfort. Freedom from coercion. Nobody can lock you in.

“Give them the start you never had.”

Family. Children, and the guilt of not providing.

Most real ads stack two or three. The dentist one is authority, but it’s also comfort.

Second half of the page

Universal emotions

Below the appeals I listed the seven emotions from Paul Ekman’s research: expressions that people from very different cultures read the same way.

  • Joy
  • Surprise
  • Contempt
  • Disgust
  • Sadness
  • Anger
  • Fear

I bracketed joy and surprise as humour. A joke is a surprise you enjoy. There’s also an empty dash under surprise, which I never filled in.

Fear is on both lists, and it’s starred. It’s an appeal and a universal emotion.

NB: Ekman’s universality claim is contested. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s work argues we read faces through context and culture far more than he allowed. As a checklist for what an audience might feel, it still does the job.

Last line on the page

What stops it working

The page ends with the opposition to emotive appeals. Six words.

  1. Critical thinking
  2. Scepticism
  3. Disillusion
  4. Cynicism
  5. Disassociation
  6. Apathy

Read in order, the list gets darker. Critical thinking and scepticism weigh the appeal and decide. By cynicism, everything is assumed to be a trick. Apathy doesn’t weigh anything. It’s stopped feeling it.

If your audience has gone cynical, a louder appeal won’t fix it. My sales notes put it as logic to act, emotion to pay. Neither works on someone who’s stopped listening.