During periods of market volatility, it’s common for financial advisors to receive calls from clients who are nervous about what a steep market decline might mean for their portfolio and long-term financial goals. In these moments, an advisor’s first instinct might be to take a logic-based approach – citing long-term market trends and encouraging the client to stay invested. But even when a client agrees with the reasoning in the moment, the anxiety often lingers. Without the opportunity to fully express their emotions and engage in their own reasoning, clients may walk away feeling unconvinced – only to call back again a few days later, still uneasy.
While it’s natural to want to ‘fix’ a client’s fear, the most effective conversations often aren’t about solving their emotions – they’re more about helping clients move through them. Advisors can support this process by creating space for clients to articulate what feels hardest, process their uncertainty without feeling dismissed, identify what would help them feel more in control, and reason their way toward clarity – all at their own pace. Instead of delivering answers too quickly, the goal is to build connection and help clients regain a sense of agency.
Research on self-persuasion shows that people are far more likely to believe in – and act on – conclusions they reach themselves. So rather than reassuring clients with logic alone, advisors can guide them through reflection: inviting them to revisit past challenges, express what they’re thinking, and imagine how they’ll feel about this decision in the future. This allows clients to hear their own words, affirm their own reasoning, and reinforce their own confidence – which is often more powerful than hearing it from someone else.
Importantly, logic still has a place in the conversation – just not at the beginning. Once clients have had space to express their emotions and think through their concerns, they’re often in a better position to hear and engage with logical information. At that point, charts, data, and historical examples can be incredibly helpful – not as a rebuttal to the client’s fear, but as a useful resource to support their own decision-making process. Framing this information as a tool, rather than a correction, can reduce resistance and increase its impact. One effective approach is to ask permission before introducing data (“Would you like to look at some historical trends to put this in perspective?”). When clients are invited into the conversation – and feel heard and respected – they’re far more likely to see the information as empowering rather than dismissive.
Ultimately, the key point is that by following a sequence of emotion first, reasoning second, and logic third, advisors can help clients feel more grounded, confident, and committed to their financial plan. And when clients hear their own words and draw their own conclusions, they walk away feeling less stuck – not because their advisor told them what to do, but because they arrived at the answer themselves. And in times of market volatility, helping clients find that kind of self-driven clarity may be the most powerful reassurance of all.