As humans, we’re inherently emotional beings. We can be as analytical as we want, but in the end, so much comes down to that deep sense of how something makes us feel – our lives are dictated by our emotions, perhaps more than anything else.

While some people believe that our emotions are culturally conditioned, Darwin theorised that emotions are evolved expressions, which is backed up by the fact that they are shared across the world. In fact, the basic emotions – of fear, sorrow, disgust, anger and joy – evolved to make people behave in a way that was appropriate to their environment and, in some cases, essential for their survival. Social emotions, like shame, guilt, embarrassment or pride also play an important role.

The universality of human emotion is why it’s so important to take it into account in a business context as well as a personal context. Whether you are building an audience or developing a relationship with a client (be it an individual or a business), you need to remember that behind the fancy titles and company names, we’re all just people. And people are all subject to emotion.

In traditional rhetoric – dating back to Aristotle – there are three modes of persuasion: ethos, logos and pathos. While ethos refers to the fundamental values or character of the person or issue at hand, and logos is all about knowledge and logic, pathos is an appeal to emotion. It says something about the enduring power of emotionally driven discussion that pathos is the one word of the three that is still seen today beyond academic literature.

So, we know that emotional appeal is not a new idea, but it is an enduring one. Think about advertising – do you remember ads that rattle off facts and figures, or ones that provoke a more emotional response? The same goes for news stories; we tend to recall, and talk later about, the ones that touch us in some way. It could be something tragic, something beautiful, something hilarious or something disturbing – but the main thing is, it makes you feel something.

Tell your story. Sometimes it might require some thought first, for you to determine what makes you different, but there is always something special there for you to unearth and your unique stories will become a point of difference for you. Whether you want your content to make someone laugh or pull at their heart strings, evoking a visceral response is always going to make you, your campaigns and copy, and your company, more memorable.

So think about ways that you can appeal to your readers’ emotions and let that shine through. Remember, if you’re intrinsically feeling something when you’re creating or commissioning content, then it’s far more likely that the people reading it will too.