Why is the 'Element of surprise' so mysterious and exciting?
How a surprise works, trending services, and the science behind a surprise.
Germain Miedema
02 July 2020
The gut feeling for the element of surprise is currently the biggest force behind Hintle. But what do other smart people say about the magic behind that surprise effect. How is it created? And what can you do with it in your daily life? Discover how surprise works, which trending services are available and the science behind surprise.
Surprising gut feeling
When I started on Hintle, the very first thought behind the mysterious invitation was to keep seeing each other regularly even though we are busier with careers, living farther apart and have absorbing family lives. Because, as a sometimes simple boy, I reason: Why did my parents meet so little with their friends when I was little?
Then, musing in, what if you agree by just setting a date, without telling who is behind it, or what you are going to do? The eternal agenda fight is resolved immediately. Because everyone wants to know the outcome of a secret, I thought. It is also impossible to have prejudices because of the surprise. All you want is to know who's behind it.
Zo werkt een verrassing in je hoofd
In this Tedx video, Michael Roussel explains how that surprise effect works exactly in your head and why it is so strong. Marketing is also looking at how Surprise can make a difference. They see the power of 'pleasant surprises' makes a huge difference in entering into relationships. In anthropology, surprise revolves around the "quickening of the unknown." Here it’s about the role that poets often play. And that's not all. More and more companies are also directing surprises in services.
Did you know that being surprised is an emotion? The gold of this feeling seems to be in the 'pause' moment. The moment between being surprised and being surprised. And then return to the 'new normal'. After a few seconds, the emotion is followed by anger, if it was disappointing, or euphoria if it was all your thing. The emotion surprise lets us dwell on what we are experiencing for a few seconds, and then contrast it with an exuberant emotion.
Trending services
It was close to hand, or Hintle didn't exist. Because, at that time I thought we looked too much like surprise travel service srprs.me. - With them you do not know in advance what the destination is. - Today it seems all kind of services are popping up with surprises in mind.
In the US, 'Surprise Industries' has been around for 8 years. Here you can buy an outing for 25 euros, and you have no idea what you are going to do. It started from a psychologist, who found the element of surprise magical. It is not only in outings and travel. Bloombox lets you order plants without knowing what is coming in. The goal: to create a kind of super enthusiasm until the unboxing moment. Doloris` is a meta maze in which they prefer to tell as little as possible and the founder of srprs.me has made it his mission to add more open-mindedness thanks to the element of surprise.
How do you use the power of surprise?
Where the research revolves around 'the pause', we see it used within companies as the main ingredient for anticipation or to strengthen relationships. And how do you use the power of surprise?