Creating Memorable Scenes

Just like we can create larger stories about our lives, I believe it’s possible to create the conditions for more memorable scenes at the micro level. While you can’t make them happen, you can create the conditions to make them more likely to happen. We’ve already talked about the question that can kickstart this habit:

💡 After I start a new project, I will ask myself what “will make it amazing?” And brainstorm for 5 minutes.

To facilitate brainstorming and help make this habit easier, I think it’s helpful to understand the consistent elements of memorable scenes.

Memorable scenes engage our senses.

A memorable scene often isn’t just a function of the plot itself, or the dialogue. Often the cinematography is what makes a scene great. The angle the camera uses for the shot. The color. The mood. The soundtrack, or sound effects.

All of these can impact the potency of a scene. So consider the setting when designing the scene.

How does the space look?

What is in the scene? In a movie nothing is in a scene by accident. Remove anything that doesn’t add to the story.

If you’re a banker and you’re sitting with a client to talk about potentially getting a mortgage, do the passersby walking behind your desk through the blinds add or detract from the scene? Do they steal the focus away from what you’re trying to create?

If you’re trying to create a memorable date night at home with your partner, look around the space. Are there items lying around that might get them away from the present moment, that remind them of things that need to be done? Remove kids backpacks, that pile of papers, etc. Anything that detracts from the scene should be removed.

How does it sound?

Is it loud or quiet? What’s in the background? Does the broken A/C that makes that humming noise add or detract from the scene? Are you on a busy street with a ton of loud street traffic? Is there anything you could do to mitigate that? Would the right music improve the scene, or distract from it?

How does it smell?

There’s evidence that suggest scent is incredibly powerful when it comes to memories. Many smart retail companies have figured this out and pipe proprietary scents into their stores. Hotels have done the same. It might be worth finding a scent you like (or your customers like, or your partner likes).

For example, I bought my wife this incense as a Christmas gift a few years ago, and it’s her favorite. So I refill periodically to make sure it’s always available.

How does it feel?

Humans are tactile creatures. ****Are the chairs in your waiting area scratchy? Do they have narrow metal legs that squeal as they move around on your tile floor? What do you door handles look and feel like? How do people move through your space? Do they keep getting bunched up waiting for their drink? If your partner cold because you’re by a window or door?

Memorable scenes surprise and delight

One of the most powerful ways to create more compelling scenes is to leverage surprise.

Our lives are primarily full of routine. We are pattern finding creatures, and use repetition and patterns to make sense of the world.

Surprise breaks through this. When you do something pleasant and unexpected, it is much more likely to be remembered.

The great thing about surprise and delight is you can literally do anything. It’s like the free prize inside of the Cracker Jack box. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with the product itself. My only recommendation would be that it be something that points to the values you want to model to the world.

Some examples from my personal life:

• One Christmas, my sister-in-law Amanda gave their mom a photo album of their family from the past year. Flipping through it, we realized her husband Jeremy wasn’t in any of the pictures. We had a nice laugh. But we got back together the following week, I gave my mother-in-law a second photo album called “Just Jeremy.” But it turns out he’s hardly in any of our pictures either. So the album is full of photos of other people with him partially cropped or in the background with arrows pointing to him.
• We host a Thanksgiving party for 30-40 folks each year. I asked them for their favorite thanksgiving memory when they RSVP’d. We printed them all out (anonymized), and put them on the wall in our house so folks could read what everyone said.
• I host a dads and kids camping trip each year. But rather than making standard camping food, I use it as an opportunity to see what’s possible with elevated meals. We’ve done braised short ribs in a dutch oven, did a cassoulet one year, etc. It’s always a surprise.
• A small group of friends do a 3 day weekend twice a year. Each time we divy up responsibilities - 1-2 people are responsible for food for adults, someone for kids, someone is responsible for drinks, someone is responsible for games, and someone is responsible for topics of conversation. That person usually has the hardest but most fun job.

Some of my favorite examples from companies:

• Photojojo was a website that sold photography equipment. When you placed an order, you’d receive whatever you ordered, but you’d also receive a tiny plastic dinosaur. On the invoice it would list out the items in your order, and “1 RAWWWRR: $0.00”. Thousands of delighted customers shared this on social media. Photojojo also let you add “fresh cookie smell” to your box for $1.00.
• I heard a story about a home renovation company that would send hand-written notes from the owner to the neighboring homes of the job they were about to start. It would say, “Our goal is to be efficient and unobtrusive. If the noise is ever an issue, please call me on my cell at XXX.” The homeowners would often hear about this from their neighbors. More importantly, they left an impression on the neighbors and became the vendor of choice when they had their own renovation needs.
• When Chewy customers reach out to the company telling them they need to cancel because their pet passed away, Chewy goes to extraordinary lengths. They will send them flowers, with a note mentioning the pet by name. They’ll refund their last order and tell them to give it to the nearby pet shelter. They’ve even send little paintings of the owner’s pet.

You can turn moment into a more memorable scene. It just takes asking the right question at the outset, and incorporating elements that increase potential memorability.

‍