Emotional Contagion

Many motivational speakers have said “attitude is contagious” as they act ridiculously cheery…likely because they’re getting paid exorbitant fees to regurgitate the same things over and over. Attitude may or may not be contagious, but emotions certainly are. A person who is genuinely feeling good and has strong positive emotions can help raise the emotional vibes of those around them.

The same runs true in reverse. A person who is full of hate and anger…as if trying to be a Sith Lord…can prompt those around them to drop to a lower emotional state. In the case of the workplace, a sales representative who’s feeling really great about life will likely sell more as he/she is giving customers the warm-fuzzies.

A sales representative who hates life (and shows it) not only isn’t going to sell anything, but is probably either going to have a pity party with a customer who feels the same way, or is going to bring an otherwise happy customer down…and still won’t sell anything.