What Actually Happens When You Hook Your Audience (And How to Use It)

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You’ve probably heard the story (heck, I have been perpetuating it myself!): tell the right kind of story, and you’ll release dopamine, oxytocin, or endorphins in your audience’s brains. Create suspense for dopamine. Show empathy for oxytocin. Add humor for endorphins. Mix your “Angel’s Cocktail” and watch your audience transform.

It’s a compelling narrative - David JP Phillips’ TEDx talk on this has millions of views, and his book High on Life builds an entire system around it. And you know what? The techniques absolutely work. They were taught to me early in my speaking career, and while accepting them as very much an oversimplification, I didn’t dive into the science - until now. What I want to share with you is what I found about why they work - an understanding that can make you even more effective as a speaker.

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening when you use these storytelling techniques, and how you can use this knowledge to become a better speaker.

What the Research Actually Shows
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There IS research showing that narratives can affect neurochemicals. Neuroscientist Paul Zak’s research demonstrates that character-driven stories with dramatic arcs can cause oxytocin release and affect behavior.[1] The simplified “hormone cocktail” story captures something real.[2][3]

But the mechanisms are richer and more interesting than a simple cause-and-effect relationship. Understanding what’s really happening gives you more tools to work with.

Here’s what we know with solid evidence:

Dramatic Arcs Are Real and Universal
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A 2020 study analyzing approximately 40,000 narratives found strong, highly consistent evidence for three primary narrative processes: staging, plot progression, and cognitive tension, with coherent patterns across genres and story lengths.[4] This effect is measurable across thousands of stories.

Suspense Changes How We Pay Attention
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Research shows that suspenseful content is associated with motivated attention and psychological tension, with measurable physiological changes.[5] Brain imaging studies reveal that reading suspenseful text activates areas related to social cognition and predictive inference.[6] Your audience isn’t just passively listening: their brains are actively trying to predict what happens next.

You may have heard that suspense “releases dopamine” in a simple cause-and-effect way. The reality is more nuanced: dopamine is involved in reward prediction and motivational salience. What we can control as speakers is creating the conditions - uncertainty, anticipation, emotional engagement - that make information memorable. The specific neurochemical dance happening in your audience’s brains is complex, but the practical outcome is clear: suspenseful moments enhance attention and memory encoding.

Unfinished Stories Stick in Memory
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The Zeigarnik effect, discovered in the 1920s, demonstrates that people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.[7] This is why cliffhangers work - our brains hate open loops and will work to close them.

What This Means For You As A Speaker
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Instead of thinking about hormones, focus on what you can actually design and control: attention, cognitive engagement, and memory.

1. Use Cognitive Tension (Not Drama for Drama’s Sake)
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The research shows that effective narratives create “cognitive tension” - moments where characters (or you, or your case study companies) must process scenarios, resolve conflicts, and form new understanding.