What Is Emotional Resonance in CX Design?

Emotional resonance is the spark that happens when a story, image, or interaction touches something deep within us—evoking a strong, relatable response and creating a sense of shared understanding or empathy.

Stories have the power to ignite action, but it is the emotional resonance within those stories that compels people to act. In customer experience, emotional resonance plays a critical role in building lasting connections with customers, stakeholders, and teams. Our emotions drive much of our decision-making, and understanding how to tap into those emotions can make your stories not only more impactful but also more persuasive.

The concept of emotional resonance isn’t new, but its application in customer experience design is often overlooked. When we tell emotionally resonant stories, we are inviting others to connect with us in a vulnerable and authentic way. We are showing that we understand their struggles, joys, and aspirations, and in return, they trust us more.

Emotional Resonance Through Game Play

In CX work, we often talk about listening, empathy, and understanding. But what truly drives meaningful insight? That moment when someone feels safe, heard and understood enough to go beyond surface-level responses.

Jeremy Dean, from Riders & Elephants, presented on Unlocking Conversations Through Game Play (available as part of our on-demand learning). He unpacked how using game-based approaches in customer conversations can create the kind of emotional connection that unlocks deeper insights and lasting impact.

Jeremy Dean from Riders & Elephants presenting on 'Unlocking Customer conversations through game play' to the CXC Community.

During the session, Jeremy discussed the idea that when we rely on traditional research methods (interviews, surveys, formal workshops) we often become rehearsed, guarded, or overly rational. But people need space to be real. Emotional resonance requires people to share their discomfort, joy, confusion, or frustration.

Jeremy shared a simple tool that he uses to engage customers. He uses a Card Deck tool as a playful icebreaker to get people to open up about emotional insights that might sometimes get missed in a typical conversation.

The way it works is, instead of asking customers “How was your experience?” or “What’s working for you?” he invites them to pick a card that best represents how they feel and share the story behind those choices. This approach doesn’t just bring to the surface emotional data, it creates an experience.

While this approach is aimed at helping us gain a deeper understanding of our customers' insights, it can be applied to communication with key stakeholders too. For example, using this approach you can help your key stakeholders identify how they want their customers to feel about their brand, inviting deep thought and reflection. Then reveal the card that identifies how their customers actually feel. 

By engaging your key stakeholders through playful co-creation, you build deeper buy-in and make it easier for your stakeholders to really listen and hear what’s being said.

Game Play Shifts the Conversation

Sometimes the most powerful way to listen is through play. Jeremy discussed how game-play can help shift the energy in the room, explaining how he uses the card deck tool to engage a group without the usual fear of hierarchy or saying the wrong thing.

When participants can respond to a metaphor or prompts rather than direct questions, it creates emotional safety. And, once that safety is established, the conversation can deepen.

Game-play invites imagination. Participants aren’t just giving opinions, they’re storytelling, role-playing, or visualising. That encourages emotional connection not just with the topic, but with each other and creates the conditions for vulnerability and trust.

Connecting on an Emotional Level

The session made it clear that emotional resonance isn’t just for customers. Team members, stakeholders, and staff also need space to be real.

Jeremy shared an example of how they used the card deck across the Burger Fuel network to look at the experiences the brand was delivering to their customers and the experiences they wanted for their people.

For example, they might use the card deck to engage staff at the beginning of a shift, asking: “Which one of these [feelings] are we going to focus on today?”, or the manager might pick a card and say “Today we are going to focus on making all of our customers feel proud. Now what do you think we can do?”.

He says it’s only 5 or 10 minutes at the beginning of a shift, but what it does is put emotion at the centre of everything they are doing.

“Emotion drives our behaviour, governs how we behave, so let’s not talk only about what we want our customers to do, but what we want them to feel. Because that is going to impact the experience they have with us.”

Connecting on an emotional level creates lasting bonds between a brand and its audience. Emotions shape how customers perceive their interactions with a brand or service. Play is a powerful method for building trust, and even a small, light-hearted game at the beginning of a session can “break the ice” and shift people into a more open mindset.

Emotional Resonance in Leadership

Think about the successful leaders you aspire to be. How have they inspired you? How have their stories helped shift you from passive consumer to taking action? Emotional resonance plays a critical role in leadership. The most successful leaders are those who inspire others by connecting with them emotionally.

Great leaders create change by sharing authentic experiences and evoking an emotional response that helps others feel a sense of urgency or hope, showing us how our contributions matter, and turning listeners into participants.

So, here’s your challenge: Explore how you can deepen the emotional resonance of your stories. How can you tap into the core emotions of your audience? How can you craft stories that not only inform but also inspire action? How can you balance data with emotional appeal to persuade leadership? How effective are you at using emotions and data together in your storytelling?

By creating the conditions for emotional resonance, we move beyond surface-level understanding and into the kind of shared experience that truly transforms a customer’s experience.

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