“People don't ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts.” ~Robert Keith Leavitt

Imagine if there was a newfound power inherent in all human beings, and that by embracing this power, you would be more effective in the workplace, better at connecting deeply in your relationships, and more aware as a parent. Modern research proves such a power exists, and it can affect all of our lives. As Drew Westin discusses in his book The Political Brain, by appealing to another’s emotions rather than their intellect, you are much more likely to trigger a response.

For instance, think about the difference between a good movie and a great movie. A good movie engages your mind enough to keep you in the cinema for two hours. But a great movie makes you feel intense love, despair, anxiety, fear and hope.

In much the same way, a human being that makes you think is an interesting human being. But a human being that makes you feel enough emotion to stand up and act - or keel over in laughter, or wipe the tears from your eyes - that is a truly powerful human being.

We all have the ability to be appeal to another’s emotions. But to really tap into that power, you first want to get in touch with your own emotions. In much the same way, if you never listen to guitar, you’ll never care to play guitar. If you don’t enjoy eating chocolate cake, you’ll never care to bake a chocolate cake.

If you don’t sense your own emotions, you won’t sense another’s emotions. And by understanding the nature and power of emotion, you’ll be a better worker, a better spouse, and a better parent. Here are some tips on how to enhance your sense of emotion:

1. Listen

Have you ever had the experience where you love a song, and then you play it for your friend who absolutely hates it? Why does that happen? Musical notes hook on to emotions and spin those emotions in patterns. If you have a lot of angry emotions, you are more likely to enjoy Ozzy Ozbourne. If you have a lot of loving emotions, you are more likely to enjoy Bob Marley.

Whatever emotions are prevalent in you, a great song can do for those emotions what a brush can do for your hair: sort out and create order. Remember, by making sense of your emotions, you’ll be better at recognizing another’s emotions. As Lao-Tzu said, “Enlightenment is knowing yourself, wisdom is knowing others.”

2. Sniff 

David Borenstein said, “Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.” In order to sense emotion, one must first quiet the monkey mind. There are many tried and true methods to quiet the mind. But there is one great shortcut. Scent is the only one of the five senses that bypasses your thinking brain and connects with your emotional brain.

Think about it. When you smell something powerful, it has the ability to transport you to some childhood moment or teenage party. By infusing the home with a soothing scent, you create an atmosphere much more likely to evoke an emotional state that might otherwise be drowned out in thought.

3. Taste

There’s an art to pairing wine and food. If you drink white wine with a great cheeseburger, it’ll taste fine. But if you pair a spicy Zinfandel with a great cheeseburger, you’ll experience so much more flavor in every bite. It’s the same with people. Some people you hang out with make you feel uplifted, inspired and amazing. They add to the emotional flavor of your life. But some people you hang out with make you feel as if you smoked two stale cigarettes while toiling under a hot summer sun with a bad hangover, on a Monday morning.

Such people decrease the emotional flavor in your life. I don’t mean to say call the friends that make you feel bad and tell them, “This friendship is over!” I just mean to say that it’s important to know how people make you feel. It’s not just people but also music, scent, colors, and taste. Everything has a significant influence on your emotional state.

By getting a better sense of how to affect and tune your own emotions, you’ll begin to have a more positive and lasting effect on others. As Andy Warhol said of the lost power of emotion, “During the 1960s, I think, people forgot what emotions were supposed to be. And I don't think they've ever remembered.”