The flirty dozen: twelve emotions identified by the sounds they produce.

technique — attributed to Barry Ross Rinehart

Rinehart's flirty dozen names twelve emotions by the sound a person might make. Ah (surprise). Huh (mystery). Ah-ha (revelation). Ha ha (humor). Uh (worry). Unh-un (anger). OH (shock leading to empathy). Yah (exhilaration). Awww (touched heart). Hmmm (arousal across the senses). Aaaa (inspiration). Ahhh (satisfaction at the end). The framework looks playful but operationalizes a serious design discipline. Each emotion correlates with a different neurotransmitter cocktail. The designer's job is to be a master mixologist, sequencing the dozen across the event arc. Designers who hit only two or three produce monotone experiences. Designers who hit eight or ten produce experiences that move audiences across the full register.

For event designers, speakers, and creative directors thinking about emotional variety in their work. The technique is most useful as a checklist when reviewing a program for emotional range.

flirty-dozen, twelve-emotions, audience-sounds, mixing-emotions