The following contains excerpts from the book, The Power of Moments (Chip & Dan Heath).
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that successful teaching involves many factors, one being capitalizing on moments of greatness that happen in the lives of each student, celebrating their successes.
Although, the most effective mindset and successful training, generally comes from developing good habits, this book looks at the other side of the spectrum by suggesting that, while most of life is indeed mundane, the human experience is indelibly etched by specific moments we carry with us as preeminently influential and significant. The book explores how we can use these moments most effectively, deal with the negative ones, and create positive life-changing moments for others.
“Defining moments shape our lives, but we don’t have to wait for them to happen. We can be the authors of them…In this book, we have two goals: First, we want to examine defining moments and identify the traits they have in common…Second, we want to show you how you can create defining in moments by making use of those elements.”
“When people assess an experience, they tend to forget or ignore its length- a phenomenon called ‘duration neglect.’ Instead, they seem to rate the experience based on two key moments: (1) the best or worst moment, known as the ‘peak’; and (2) the ending. Psychologists call it the ‘peak-end rule.’”
“What’s indisputable is that when we assess our experiences, we don’t average our minute-by-minute sensations. Rather, we tend to remember flagship moments: the peaks, the pits, and the transitions.”
“In our research, we have found that defining moments are created from one or more of the following four elements:
Elevation- to construct elevated moments, we must boost sensory pleasures…and, if possible, add an element of surprise…surprise can warp our perceptions of time.
Insight- In a few seconds or minutes, we realize something that might influence our lives for decades…a ‘crystallization of discontent,’ moments when people abruptly saw things as they were.
One of the most important aspects of teaching in our music school in Midland, Texas is to help students come to their own conclusions by leading them to think along certain lines of truth.
Pride: Defining moments capture us at our best- moments of achievement, moments of courage.
Connection- Defining moments are social: weddings, graduations, baptisms, vacations, work triumphs, bar and bat mitzvahs, speeches, sporting events. These moments are strengthened because we share them with others.
This highlights the value of performance experiences like recitals and concerts at our music school in Midland, Texas. When students gain a sense of community, it can have far-ranging effects.
The authors suggest, “If you’re struggling to make a transition, created a defining moment that draws a dividing line between the Old You and New You.”
The authors suggest that many defining moments and opportunities to accentuate are passing us by throughout our days, “And particularly in organizations, these circumstances tend to go unnoticed,” such as moments of promotion, and the end of projects.
“To exceed customer expectations and create a memorable experience, you need the behavioral and interpersonal parts of the service. You need the element of pleasant surprise. And that comes when human beings interact…And that process of elevation…is not about filling pits or paving potholes. To create fans, you need the remarkable, and that requires peaks. Peaks don’t emerge naturally. They must be built.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas it is our goal to make each teaching experience unique and special, highlighting a ‘eureka’ moment where the student is made aware of something they had never considered.
“How do you build peaks? You create a positive moment with elements of elevation, insight, pride, and/or connection…To elevate a moment, do three things: First, boost sensory appeal. Second, raise the stakes. Third, break the script. (Breaking the script means to violate expectations about an experience.)”
“One simple diagnostic to gauge whether you’ve transcended the ordinary is if people feel the need to pull out their cameras…It’s going to be way harder than you think to create peaks. But once you’ve done it, you’re going to consider every ounce of effort worth it. You will have created you own defining moments.”
“Breaking the script isn’t just surprise, it’s strategic surprise…here’s the problem: Familiarity and memorability are often at odds…What if your customers come weekly or even daily? That’s trickier…So how do you break the script consistently enough that it matters- but not so consistently that customers adapt to it? One solution is to introduce a bit of randomness.”
“To increase positive variance is to welcome humanity and spontaneity into the system. And that means giving employees license to break the script…Just by disrupting routines, we can create more peaks…A little novelty can go a long way. Learn to recognize your own scripts. Play with them, poke at them, disrupt them. Not all the time- just enough to keep those brown shoes looking fresh…As the authors of the book Surprise put it, ‘We feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not.’”
One of the aspects of teaching music that is often overlooked is the role of improvisation. At our music school in Midland, Texas we teach students both to read and perform material written by others, as well as learning to improvise, using core competencies of knowing their scales and other technical abilities.
The authors use the term ‘tripping over the truth’ to recount moments, “When you have a sudden realization, one that you didn’t see coming, and one that you know viscerally is right.” Even when people set goals and fail, they still learn something about themselves. “Psychologists call this ‘self-insight’ – a mature understanding of our capabilities and motivations- and it’s correlated with an array of positive outcomes, ranging from good relationships to a sense of purpose in life. Self-insight and psychological well-being go together.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we try to instill in our students a proper understanding of growing from failures. A healthy sense of learning from mistakes reframes mistakes from ‘failures’ to ‘learning experiences.’