The small courtesy at the door may be the only part of the encounter anybody remembers.

The edges of an encounter carry more memory than the middle. Whatever was discussed tends to blur, while the way you were received at the door and the way you were let out stay clear for years. That is not shallow; those moments are when a person’s regard for you is least disguised by content. A small courtesy at the threshold is doing a lot of work.

Pay attention to how you begin and end things this week: how you greet someone at the door, how you close a call, how you say goodbye when you are in a hurry. Those seconds are what remains.