The Emotional Hook^™ is the golden nugget of your Point of Entry^®. It's been said that, as individuals, we are emotional donors looking for rational reasons to justify our emotional decisions to give. All the facts in the world, alone, won't get us to give our biggest gift. Something's got to pull at our heartstrings.

Regarding the Emotional Hook, people fall into one of two categories. Either they say it's impossible, their organization is much too abstract to have an Emotional Hook. Or they say they already know what the hook is.

Rest assured, every organization has an Emotional Hook.

And if you are one who's certain that you already know your hook, you're probably thinking of the obvious possibilities: the kids, the puppies, the hunger, the stories of domestic violence, or the catchy tag-line or logo.

These may be the hooks you talk about openly. But look deeper to what basic human emotions these trigger in people: guilt, fear, sadness, joy, etc.

You need to take the time to discover what it is about your organization that really hooks people, that calls them to become involved and stay involved. As long as you're taking the time to read this, you should assume for the moment that you don't know what it is.

The Emotional Hook may not be pretty. It may not be something you ever say out loud. It certainly may not be politically correct. Things like: "We're not kidding," "We need your help to help them," "Pay now or pay later," or "It's the least you can do." In other words, it's what you know is always present, though unspoken, in the minds of the people who come to your Point of Entry Events. Perhaps it's that sense of injustice such as, "It's just not fair that children should have to live like that." Or that sense of urgency in rescuing someone from a sure fate or the fear of what would happen if you don't focus on prevention.

As you refine the Emotional Hook for your organization, you will see that it has two components: the downside, which we call the "stereotype," and the upside, which we call the "imagine."

The downside of the Emotional Hook triggers all the stereotypes we have about this organization or the population it serves. It calls forth our small, petty selves. It makes us say things like: "They deserve it," "They brought this problem on themselves," and "What difference could I make anyway? That problem will never go away."

The upside of the Emotional Hook triggers deeply-held values: it says "imagine." It calls forth our expansive, generous, noble selves. It says: "That's not right, that's not OK with me," "It shouldn't be that way," "They don't deserve it," and "It's not fair." What if that intractable problem didn't have to exist anymore? What if the mission of our organization were fulfilled? What if no more children were homeless or hungry or abused? What if every child had a guaranteed shot at a college education?

The upside ennobles us. It calls forth our bigness, our greatness. It leaves us indignant, saying "We've got to do something about this!"

That's why it's called the Emotional Hook. It hooks people in.

And, at your Point of Entry Event, it's brilliantly intertwined with the facts about your work, the statistics, those good appease-the-mind sound bites that we all need.

If you are seriously interested in zeroing in on your organization's Emotional Hook, you might try getting a small group together to discuss the following questions. They are designed to help you distinguish and zero in on your unique hook.

1. What originally moved you about the mission of the organization? Why did you decide to get involved in the first place? Briefly share your stories. They will reinspire you. You will see common threads.
2. What cherished cultural values and ideals does your organization deal with?
3. Why do people say they want to be involved with your organization? What moves them enough to give their time or money?
4. What are the negative stereotypes most people have about your organization or the population you serve?
5. If the mission of your organization were fulfilled, how would you imagine the world would look for the population you serve and for others?
6. What visual image or icon best represents the "stereotype," the "imagine," or both?
7. What one phrase says it all? Does it move you to say it? Is it personal enough?

These questions are designed to reconnect you to the experience of an outsider when first learning about your organization.

There will be many ways to apply the hook and to weave it into your existing materials—your speeches, letters, all communications. Keep it personal. Make it human-scale. Even if you're dealing with a hugely abstract policy issue, you can relate it to the life of one individual or one family. Take it back to a core human emotion which stirs people.

If you don't reach in and hook their heart, they won't remember you for long. You'll just be some other needy cause rather than their personal cause, the issue they want to contribute their abundant resources to. For life.

That's what you're after.