Small Practices, Big Impact: The Question That Turns Endings into Beginnings

You’re reading another installment of Small Practices, Big Impact: Ripple Leadership in Action — a series exploring the simple, intentional actions that create powerful ripples in leadership and culture.

INSPIRE

We spend hours designing how a meeting will begin and on the agenda, the outcomes, and the activities. But how much time do we devote to how it will end?

Too often, the closing becomes an afterthought, or no thought at all. Even when we plan for reflection, time easily slips away, and we end in a blur of laptops shutting and side conversations sparking, more like the final bell in a high school hallway than the closing of a purposeful gathering.

But research and brain science tell us that how an experience ends shapes how it’s remembered. In The Power of Moments, the Heath brothers remind us that the final moments of any event, whether a vacation, dinner, or meeting, carry more weight in how people recall the experience than even the beginning or middle. The ending becomes the story that lingers.

So how do we effectively and efficiently put a memorable bow on our times together?

REFLECT

After learning about Michael Bungay Stanier’s (MBS) set of questions from The Coaching Habit, I began using “The Learning Question” to close professional learning sessions and meetings:

“What was most useful for you?”

He uses this question to cap off coaching conversations, and it works beautifully in that setting. But I’ve found it to be equally powerful with teams and learning in group settings.

Here’s why this simple question packs such a punch:

1. It’s simple. There’s no explanation or overthinking required.
2. It prompts reflection. Participants have the opportunity to pause, process the learning, and identify what truly resonated.
3. It strengthens memory. Calling that insight to mind reinforces neural pathways, increasing the chance it will stick.
4. It frames the experience positively. There’s always something useful—and recognizing it fuels a growth mindset.
5. It offers instant feedback. You, as the facilitator or leader, gain valuable insight into what landed most deeply.
6. It inspires action. Naming what was most useful doesn’t just reinforce learning—it increases the likelihood that insight turns into behavior. When people articulate their takeaway, they’re more likely to apply it, share it, and make change ripple outward.

The power of this simple question continues to surprise me. I’m often amazed by the variety of responses… each person finds something different that was most useful to them. It’s a great reminder of how we all process experiences uniquely, and that effective leadership means planning with those varied perspectives in mind.

AMPLIFY

This week, try closing one meeting, PL session, or coaching conversation with this question:

“What was most useful for you?”

Notice how the tone shifts. Notice how people pause, think, and leave your time together just a little more focused and affirmed.

Because every great ending creates a ripple that carries into what comes next.

Every small practice creates a ripple. 🌀

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