Get familiar with the fundamentals.

Heart Buttons are the unfulfilled emotional needs that are the primary drivers of human behavior, more significant than logic or facts. The products we buy, the people we admire, and the way we live are all influenced heavily by our unmet emotional needs. What are common characteristics of Heart Buttons? They are:

• More powerful in driving behavior change than logic or facts
• Something people want to be, not something they already are
• Not easily expressed or consciously recognized, but internalized

Researchers have identified Heart Buttons covering everything from the desire to belong to the desire for control over life’s challenges (see sidebar). Which Heart Buttons are the most significant emotional drivers of behavior? That depends on the individual and their situation.