How To Praise

How To Praise 
"results that are recognized get repeated"


Whenever you praise, be it at work or at home, you will reinforce the 
behavior and make it much more likely that it will be repeated in the 
future. In today's competitive world criticisms will nearly always 
outnumber praise and a shortage of time often leads managers and 
parents to give both at the same time not an effective strategy to 
encourage or discourage a particular behavior: e.g. "you did a great 
job on the dishes but your bedroom's a real mess!" But we do need a 
mixture of both. Since there is no perception without contrast, 
praise is diminished without criticism and vice versa. Praise tends 
to have a motivating effect on people's performance as well as 
doubling up as feedback from which to learn. 

Dr. Peter Honey, the world famous behavioral psychologist, advises 
that to enhance learning and development follow these five guidelines 
when praising: 

1.Always give specific praise and avoid meaningless generalizations. 
Start with what you have observed, or heard from someone else, then 
go on to spell out why you liked it.

2.Always praise better than expected results or actions. For example, 
when people exceed their target, make an extra effort, are punctual 
when usually late etc. 

3.Always use 'stand alone' praise and do not dilute it with any 
criticism. The rule is when praise is deserved, give it, when 
criticism is deserved, give it. But don't mix the two. 

4.Always praise as close in time to the person's action as possible. 
Praising someone a long time after the event is still worthwhile but 
has less impact. 

5.Always praise authentically, not because you think you should or 
only on special occasions or to impress a third party. Remember, 
praise is one of the most effective and yet inexpensive ways to 
motivate people and one of the best tools to help people learn.