The Power of Moments

Abstract

Everyone experiences moments they will never forget. This book explores what enhances those unforgettable moments and gives them staying power in a person’s memory, even influencing behavior and choices. The authors identify 4 types of moments and how readers can design an experience to create a moment with impact.According to Heath and Heath, moments that stand out are the extreme highs and extreme lows. Although many of us move through our days routinely, there are ways to engineer our interactions with staff, leaders, patients, colleagues, and family members that can create a powerful moment with an impact on the other person. Routine interactions throughout the day do not last in our memory, but the peaks and valleys certainly do.One of the 4 types of moments is elevation; an experience that exceeds our ordinary day, appeals to our senses, and often is a delightful surprise. Dan Heath, one of the authors, spoke at the American Association of Teaching Institute and shared the story of a Los Angeles hotel that has some of the highest customer ratings, but is not what you would expect from a highly ranked hotel. The high rankings are due to moments that appeal to the guests’ senses and surprise and delight them, including the “Pop-sicle Hotline,” magic shows, and a free library to check out board games and movies.For nurses, there is an important revelation in this book, namely that providing an experience for others, such as patients and their families, is “mostly forgettable and occasionally remarkable.” Providing a great experience for patients and families does not mean everything has to be amazing during your interactions; rather, focus on the moments you can create with patients and families that can bring meaning to their lives and elevate their experience.The authors describe several categories of moments and strategies for engineering moments through interactions with others. In some cases, moments can be interwoven into an experience that moves a person to action or to a positive emotional response.I strongly recommend this book if you want to understand how people can elevate a single experience in their mind or experience something that will change their actions and behavior. The stories shared in The Power of Moments are powerful and may lead you to think about how to engineer your day and experiences with everyone around you.