The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact

by Chip Heath

• Hansen’s research: When it comes to performance, strong purpose trumps strong passion. 5. In individual relationships, we believe that relationships grow closer with time. But that’s not the whole story. Sometimes long relationships reach plateaus. And with the right moment, relationships can deepen quickly. • Fisherow and her team turned around the troubled Stanton Elementary School by relying, in part, on short parent-teacher home visits before the start of school. 6. According to the psychologist Harry Reis, what deepens individual relationships is “responsiveness”: mutual understanding, validation, and caring. • Stanton’s teachers showed responsiveness by listening to parents’ hopes for their kids. • In health care, caregivers are switching from the question “What’s the matter?” to “What matters to you?” • “Baggage-handling” customer service reps validate customers’ past experiences. 7. Responsiveness coupled with openness leads to intimacy. It happens via “turn-taking.” • Art Aron’s 36 Questions experiment leads total strangers to become intimate—in 45 minutes!