#4: THE “POWER OF MOMENTS”
In their latest book, The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact, Chip and Dan Heath describe what happens during a powerful moment:
- The moment elevates. The attendee is lifted out of the ordinary and taken to another level of understanding, connectivity, or experience.
- The moment brings new insight and shapes the way the attendee sees the world.
- The moment creates connection and deepens the attendee’s ties with others.
Which moments during an event have the potential to be powerful and how do can you optimize them?
In a Fast Company article on the power of moments, the Heaths described the Castle Hotel in Los Angeles, a nondescript hotel that’s always rated in the top three on TripAdvisor because of a powerful moment.
A guest picks up a mysterious red phone at poolside and someone answers, “Popsicle Hotline, may I help you?” Minutes later, a waiter wearing white gloves and carrying a silver tray delivers a free popsicle to the guest. “Customers will forgive small swimming pools and underwhelming room décor, as long as you deliver some magical peak moments.”
A wedding ceremony, according to the Heaths, features all three ‘power of moment’ traits: the elevation of fine food, dancing, and fancy clothes, the insight afforded by toasts and stories, and the connection of sharing the moment with loved ones. The Heath brothers say memories are “snippets of scenes. Moments.”
Webinar chat participants provided more examples:
- Playing with dogs or puppies.
- Entertainment in unexpected locations, like registration lines.
- Playful art projects.
- A fun hang-out space on the show floor with yard games, digital jukebox, comfy seats, pergola, and lights strung to look like a backyard party.
Get sponsors involved in planning these opportunities for networking and conversation. The backyard party was called the Sunz Deck after the sponsor.
Peggy described an opening session at a Maryland chapter’s conference—a panel on how to improve Baltimore’s image. The power moment occurred when the facilitator invited attendees to share their passion about Baltimore. The panel, all movers and shakers in Baltimore, heard the collective wisdom in the room, and could take some of those ideas back to the office and act on them.
The Heaths say, “We can be the designers of moments that deliver elevation and insight and pride and connection. These exceptional minutes and hours and days—they are what make life meaningful. And they are ours to create.”