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The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Chip Heath (Author), Dan Heath (Author), Jeremy Bobb (Narrator),
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The New York Times best-selling authors of Switch and Made to Stick explore why certain brief experiences can jolt us and elevate us and change us - and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work.

While human lives are endlessly variable, our most memorable positive moments are dominated by four elements: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. If we embrace these elements, we can conjure more moments that matter. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember 20 years later? What if a manager knew how to create an experience that would delight customers? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children?

This book delves into some fascinating mysteries of experience: Why we tend to remember the best or worst moment of an experience as well as the last moment and forget the rest. Why "we feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they're not". And why our most cherished memories are clustered into a brief period during our youth.

Listeners discover how brief experiences can change lives, such as the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and, 45 minutes later, they leave as best friends. (What happens in that time?) Or the tale of the world's youngest female billionaire, who credits her resilience to something her father asked the family at the dinner table. (What was that simple question?)

Many of the defining moments in our lives are the result of accident or luck - but why would we leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them? The Power of Moments shows us how to be the author of richer experiences.

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  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 24 minutes
  2. Author
    Chip Heath, see all
  3. Narrator
    Jeremy Bobb
  4. Audible release date
    October 3, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster Audio
  7. ASIN
    B074TZFTDG
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 24 minutes
Author Chip Heath, Dan Heath
Narrator Jeremy Bobb
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date October 03, 2017
Publisher Simon & Schuster Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B074TZFTDG
Best Sellers Rank #2,089 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#22 in Communication & Social Skills (Audible Books & Originals)
#32 in Communication & Social Skills (Books)
#42 in Interpersonal Relations (Books)

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
4,606 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book extremely insightful, with a profound sense of connection. They also appreciate the interesting stories that illustrate how moments can change. Readers describe the book as an easy, fun read with clear and powerful illustrations. They say it takes ordinary days and opens their eyes to all the possibilities.

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ContentUsefulnessReadabilityPersonal significanceReading experience
141 customers mention "Content"139 positive2 negative

Customers find the book gives wonderful insight into the power of a single moment. They also appreciate the excellent examples and the authors' great job of raising awareness. Readers describe the book as invigorating and inspiring, with great innovative ideas written in a conversational tone. They say it's a fun read as well as a practical guide, and they're delighted by the bonus resources.

"...It’s extremely insightful in the most practical way. Great stories with unique applications...." Read more

"...The Magic Castle Hotel story is incredibly thought provoking. This place has reviews through the roof and has won numerous prestigious awards...." Read more

"...You’ll be delighted by the bonus resources, like the “clinics,” the free app referenced, “36 Questions,” and why one company empowers employees to..." Read more

"...The authors provide an excellent, fun, and thought-provoking book written with enough snarky comments (generally in footnotes) to create some..." Read more

118 customers mention "Usefulness"118 positive0 negative

Customers find the book incredibly helpful for anyone wanting to rally. They also appreciate the stories, which are easy to remember. Customers recommend the book for business owners and casual readers alike. They say the authors do an excellent job of deconstructing how to develop those moments.

"...Fantastic book!" Read more

"...The authors provide an excellent, fun, and thought-provoking book written with enough snarky comments (generally in footnotes) to create some..." Read more

"...It helps us in learning to help people know one another. The book is excellent, and I have been thinking about creating a sermon process using..." Read more

"...The book is average. But after experiencing Made to Stick, I expected much more from the Heath Brothers." Read more

73 customers mention "Readability"69 positive4 negative

Customers find the book immensely readable, easy to understand, and well presented. They also say the book is worth the read, with innovative ideas written in a conversational tone. Readers also mention the stories are easy to remember and provide an excellent, fun, and thought-provoking read.

"...& Dan Heath take you through some very basic concepts that are easily implemented. The stories they share are relatable and real...." Read more

"...The authors provide an excellent, fun, and thought-provoking book written with enough snarky comments (generally in footnotes) to create some..." Read more

"...Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s style is engaging and thought provoking. I found myself reading every single word in the book...." Read more

"An easy read ad applicable to more than just work." Read more

48 customers mention "Personal significance"48 positive0 negative

Customers find the book packed with great stories and insights about how to turn the dullness of life into something memorable and engaging.

"...The stories they share are relatable and real...." Read more

"...“A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful.”..." Read more

"The Power of Moments has practical ways to make important moments more memorable. This is good information for anyone to know...." Read more

"...The stories were interesting from beginning to end. They stick. They are memorable...." Read more

5 customers mention "Reading experience"0 positive5 negative

Customers find the book not a good read and the programs inadequate.

"...These programs are inadequate - one employee per month! How about recognition weekly or even daily?..." Read more

"...Overall not a good read." Read more

"...Unfortunately, this book did not live up to the expectations...." Read more

"This is a bad book. It takes way too long to give way too little information. It's just a bunch of bad stories strung together." Read more

La vida está llena de momentos. ¿Cómo los hacemos inolvidables?
5 out of 5 stars
La vida está llena de momentos. ¿Cómo los hacemos inolvidables?
Tiene muchísimos conceptos y ejemplos sobre la creación de momentos y porque algunos de ellos son inolvidables. Es un libro para te leer y te pensar como uno lo puedo aplicar en negocios y en la vida misma.
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Top reviews from the United States

Staci Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read!
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024
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If you are a person who wants to have an impact on people, this book is a must read! It’s extremely insightful in the most practical way. Great stories with unique applications. I’ve bought this book for friends as gifts, work colleagues as a professional development exercise, and have reread mine at least 3 times. My pages are dog eared, highlighted, and tattered from so much use. Fantastic book!
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Jonathan Peyton
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2019
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Wow! There is something in here for everyone. Business, education, government, personal - quality content, thought provoking solutions. BUILD PEAK MOMENTS. "We all have a superpower we are not using" - so simple! Highly recommend.

Updated 9/12/2019

I highly recommend this book. It’s presently at the top of my list for 2019 reading. Chip & Dan Heath take you through some very basic concepts that are easily implemented. The stories they share are relatable and real. I’ve listened to a number of interviews with Dan Heath where he shares some of the same information and two recurring themes I find incredibly powerful are:

1 – Creating moments is like a superpower we all have that we are not using right now
2 – Beware the soul-sucking force of reasonableness

The Magic Castle Hotel story is incredibly thought provoking. This place has reviews through the roof and has won numerous prestigious awards. It’s an old 1950s apartment complex and there is nothing amazing about the physical plant. The experiences however, are AMAZING. Magicians walking around, FREE snacks (and not airline size – think full sized supermarket bags), a phone by the pool where kids can call and get popsicles delivered to them by a white-gloved server on a silver platter, and much more.

After you are fully amazed by the experiences at The Magic Castle Hotel – the Heath brothers get you thinking about typical discussions around the conference room that go like this: (this is all in the book – these are my words & memories from reading – a few of the scenarios I thrown in my own “voice of reason” scenarios – the Ideas are realities at The Magic Castle Hotel)

Idea: “Hey we could have magicians walking around performing magic tricks for the kids”

Voice of Reason: “Yeah that would be nice, but what if guest attendance was low and there weren’t any kids around – we’d be paying them to do nothing. What if one of these magicians upset a kid? Anyway, kids don’t like magicians any more – they want to see videos – we could save money by having a TV screen in the lobby that we call the ‘Magic TV’ and put some magic videos on it.”

Idea: “Hey we could put a red phone outside by the pool and whenever someone picked it up a person would answer and take their order for a popsicle and then we could have someone in a butler suit with white gloves come deliver it to them poolside on a silver platter.”

Voice of Reason: “Great idea, but how would we staff that? What if we were busy and nobody answered the phone and a kid was upset? Aren’t popsicles choking hazards? Butler suits are cool, but then we are asking our employees to do something different and keep up with a whole new uniform standard. How about we just put a cooler out by the pool with a sign above it that says “FREE Popsicles.”

Idea: “Hey we could have a snack list for kids and whatever they wanted at anytime they could get for FREE, and it wouldn’t just be a small snack – it would be a legit sized bag of whatever they wanted.”

Voice of Reason: “I like that idea, but think how much money we could save if we did smaller portions – also that would be healthier for the kids. Actually now that we’re thinking about it, should we be giving away free food? – what about liabilities? What if a child ate something and had an allergic reaction? What if the snack they wanted wasn’t on the list and they got upset.”

It’s comical when you look at these powerful moments from the reverse point of view. We’ve all been in meetings where someone is hell-bent on defending the status-quo; or comes up with multiple alibis for failure. STOP THE INSANITY! The biggest brands, the truly trademark companies, the ones making the $$, getting the reviews, the ones that have the raving fans – they have crossed over the reasonableness boundary and are thinking outside the box, breaking the script, and making the ordinary extraordinary.

Thank you Chip & Dan Heath!
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2024
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What I wanted
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John W. Pearson
5.0 out of 5 stars “Beware the Soul-Sucking Force of Reasonableness”
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2017
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If you happen to be buying gifts for family and co-workers today, I can make it easy for you. Buy a dozen copies of “The Power of Moments.”

Here’s the big idea: “A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful.” And…oh, my—are we in short supply of significant moments in our boring staff meetings, workplaces, churches, schools, and homes. You can change that!

Buy this book for:

YOUR STAFF. Here’s an idea: bring popsicles to your next staff meeting and play the audio from the first chapter, “Defining Moments,” and ask the team why the Magic Castle Hotel in Los Angeles does this:

“Let’s start with a cherry-red phone mounted to a wall near the pool. You pick it up and someone answers, ‘Hello, Popsicle Hotline.’ You place an order, and minutes later, a staffer wearing white gloves delivers your cherry, orange, or grape Popsicles to you at poolside. On a silver tray. For free.”

What will your staff learn? “What the Magic Castle has figured out is that, to please customers, you need not obsess over every detail. Customers will forgive small swimming pools and underwhelming room décor, as long as some moments are magical. The surprise about great service experiences is that they are mostly forgettable and occasionally remarkable.” (p. 9)

YOUR FAVORITE CHARITIES. If I could wave a magic wand, I’d ask every relief and development organization leader to read Chapter 5, “Trip Over the Truth,” about a methodology called Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).

The authors begin with a warning to readers: “The story ahead is full of disgusting images, and it also makes frequent use of the ‘s-word” for feces.” The researcher in this Bangladesh brilliant/brilliant epiphany “believes that it’s a mistake to soft-pedal the word using medical terms…or more kid-friendly terms. When he works in new countries, he makes sure to ask for the crude slang… He wants the word to shock.”

The researcher’s ingenious approach to dramatically improved community health is the polar opposite of the way leaders, teachers, and preachers seek change. Instead of pulpits, podiums, and lecterns, Dr. Kamal Kar used observation, probing (shocking) questions, and demonstrations. Brilliant! (p. 97)

YOUR TEACHERS. In the chapter “Stretch for Insight,” the authors describe a study of 44 seventh-graders who wrote essays about a personal hero. Teachers marked up the essays and Group 1 students received generic feedback. Group 2 students received personalized “wise criticism.” Both groups could resubmit their essays in hopes of higher grades. You guessed it: almost 80 percent of Group 2 students resubmitted compared to about 40 percent of the first group. (p. 122)

YOUR PASTOR. Whew. How do pastors inspire a congregation—weekend after weekend, 52 weeks a year? (Few do.) But creative teams can create extraordinary experiences along the way—by defying “the forgettable flatness of everyday work and life by creating a few precious moments.” (p. 265)

And speaking of teaching, don’t skip the insights about a weeklong program, the Course Design Institute (CDI). “The dirty secret of higher education [and maybe seminaries] is that the faculty aren’t taught how to teach,” says Michael Palmer, a chemistry prof at the University of Virginia. So Palmer invites groups of 25 to 30 profs, per course, to meet the ugly truth in the mirror.

It begins with an interactive fill-in-the-blanks exercise, where each prof completes one sentence: an aspirational objective for students that will be realized three to five years later. Then each prof compares that aspiration with his or her course syllabus. Palmer asks, “How much of your current syllabus will advance your students toward the dreams you have for them?”

You guessed it! Chip Heath and Dan Heath describe one prof’s head-slapper moment, after an awkward silence: “You look at your syllabus, and you go, ‘Zero.’” (p. 106)

The book includes a link to a complete syllabus with “before” and “after” examples—showing how a professor changed the content, as a result of the weeklong course.

You should also buy this book for:

PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS. The dinner table question from Spanx founder Sara Blakely’s dad: “What did you guys fail at this week?” (p. 130)

HR TEAM. On creating extraordinary moments on a team member’s first day on the job: “Imagine if you treated a first date like a new employee.” (p. 18)

MARKETING STAFF. “One simple diagnostic to gauge whether you’ve transcended the ordinary is if people feel the need to pull out their cameras. If they take pictures, it must be a special occasion.” (p. 63)

FUNDRAISERS AND OTHERS. On the topic of unheralded achievements in the chapter, “Thinking in Moments,” the authors ask: “We celebrate employees’ tenure with organizations, but what about their accomplishments? Isn’t a salesman’s 10 millionth dollar of revenue earned worth commemorating? Or what about a talented manager who has had 10 direct reports promoted?” (p. 36)

And I’d add: And what about celebrating a single mom’s faithful $10-a-month donor gifts when her total giving reaches the $500 or $1,000 milestone? That’s a moment to celebrate! Plus, don’t miss the creative way one organization sends personalized thank you notes to donors. (p. 151)

BOARD MEMBERS. Recently, I played the book’s audio of “Clinic 1: The Missed Moments of Retail Banking” to my fellow board members at Christian Community Credit Union. The question, “Could banks learn to ‘think in moments’?” Convicting—but very, very applicable to all organizations.

I could go on—but you get my drift. This book changed—changed!—my thinking in so many ways. You’ll appreciate the powerful and poignant stories. Example: how a priest gathered a widow’s friends together (five years after her husband had died) for a therapeutic wedding vows ceremony—but in the past tense. “Were you faithful?” The result: she was finally ready to date again.

You’ll underline the “whirlwind reviews” for each of the four major sections (Elevation, Insight, Pride, and Connection). You’ll be delighted by the bonus resources, like the “clinics,” the free app referenced, “36 Questions,” and why one company empowers employees to give away a certain number of free drinks and food items every week! (p. 73)

The “Clinic 2” (p. 89) is a must-read about church boards. The question: “How do you refresh a meeting that’s grown rote?” One approach: “Break the script.”

And finally, Chip Heath and Dan Heath warn: “Beware the soul-sucking force of reasonableness.” Example: “Couldn’t we just put the Popsicles in a cooler by the ice machine?” (LOL!)
174 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Phil
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book !
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2024
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Great book
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Raúl
5.0 out of 5 stars Maravilloso
Reviewed in Mexico on September 17, 2023
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Si te gusta aprender cómo organizar experiencias memorables y cómo hacer que pequeños momentos valgan mucho, entonces no puedes quedarte sin leerlo
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Tiny Wings
5.0 out of 5 stars Wie man besondere Momente schafft
Reviewed in Germany on August 30, 2020
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Dieses Autoren-Duo ist schon unglaublich stark und hat auch hier wieder ein ganz besonderes Buch geschrieben.

Die Grundidee: es sind besondere Momente, die uns in Erinnerung bleiben und die so letztlich auch unser Leben mitbestimmen. Was bleibt von einem bestimmten Abschnitt in unserem Leben? Woran erinnern wir uns? Sind es positive Erinnerungen oder negative? Es ist gar nicht die Frage, ob das Leben immer einfach war. Es kann auch ruhig schwer und anstrengend gewesen sein. Solange es besondere "Peak"-Momente gab, werden wir uns an diese erinnern und so werden sie die Erinnerung an den ganzen Abschnitt bestimmen. Das Buch hat zwei Ziele: 1) werden diese besonderen Peak-Momente analysiert (was kennzeichnet sie? was haben sie gemeinsam?) und 2) wird aufgezeigt, wie man solche Peak-Momente selber erzeugen kann! D.h. das Buch hat auch einen sehr praktischen Nutzen.

Am stärksten fand ich den ersten Abschnitt "Elevation", in dem es darum geht, wie man eben besondere Momente, die aus dem Alltäglichen herausragen, schafft. Die nächsten Abschnitte "Insight", "Pride" und "Connection", in denen es jeweils um bestimmte Aspekte von besonderen Momenten geht, fand ich persönlich etwas schwächer.

Insgesamt für mich daher ein Buch zwischen vier und fünf Sternen. Jeder kann hier aber etwas mitnehmen und lernen, wie er für sich, seine Freunde oder seine Familie, für seine Mitarbeiter oder seine Schüler und Studenten besondere Momente schaffen kann, die ihnen in Erinnerung beiben und ihr Leben bereichern werden!
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cesar carneiro penna
5.0 out of 5 stars Um guia para a criação de momentos extraordinários essencial para quem deseja sair (ou tirar pessoas) da mesmice
Reviewed in Brazil on October 20, 2017
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Os Heath Brothers mais uma vez emplacam uma obra muito bem amarrada de didática impecável.

A abordagem é inovadora e busca responder por que algumas experiências possuem um impacto extraordinário. Os autores estudaram este momentos "especiais" e –como de costume– desenvolveram um modelo para sistematizar a ocorrência destes momentos. O modelo é composto por 4 passos fundamentais:

ELEVATION: Estas são: experiências sensoriais intensas; momentos arriscados; momentos em que estamos diante de uma novidade, como por exemplo, o primeiro beijo.

INSIGHT: Estes são os momentos em que nos dá aquele estalo e a nossa maneira de pensar sobre algo é transformada naquele instante. As dicas aqui são para criar situações que façam a pessoa sentir na pele o novo ponto de vista. Uma das palavras usadas é "stretch"que quer dizer esticar, agir e se colocar em novas situações, como por exemplo abrir aquele negócio que você sempre sonhou.

PRIDE: São apresentados 3 passos para criar orgulho nas pessoas. O primeiro é o reconhecimento, pense em momentos de gratidão, elogios sinceros e tangenciados àquela pessoa. O segundo são pequenas conquistas que tenham significado, uma forma de partir um objetivo em partes menores que sejam importantes, cada conquista traz mais inspiração. O terceiro passo é a coragem.

CONNECTION: Aqui primeiro se fala de shared meaning e a importância do propósito. Este capítulo me lembrou muito do A Quinta Disciplina do Peter Senge. O segundo passo para connection é a criação de laços profundos, algo como o que um bom terapeuta tenta fazer, coisas como entendimento, responsividade, cuidado e validação.

O trabalho é recheado de histórias bem emocionantes –não somente emocionantes, as histórias seguem a obra Make it Stick e são, portanto, simples, surpreendentes, vívidas e emocionantes.

No entanto, para aplicação dia a dia, alguns dos conceitos acabam se misturando um pouco. Tanto para elevation, quanto para insight e pride, são apresentados passos que em sua essência, propõem a mesma coisa: a busca por novidade e risco.
O que pode ser visto como o oposto de "rotina". Algo que haveria de se esperar de "momentos extraordinários". Por si só isso não prejudica a obra, que ilustra o modelo muito bem e é de leitura extremamente agradável.

De certa forma a leitura é um "wake up call" para quem tem uma vida que caiu na mesmice, na rotina e pode também ser muito bem aproveitada por profissionais que trabalham com qualquer coisa relacionada a criação e gestão de experiências.
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Yann POURCENOUX
5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting
Reviewed in France on June 5, 2019
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This book provides piece of answers to questions i have been asking myself for a long time.
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