“Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.” – Sam Walton
“Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of feedback. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.” – Mike Chitty
You see the thing about praise is that it can tend to be quite general. When you praise someone for their great work they are not always sure exactly which aspect of the work you thought was so great. I think praise is great – it just won’t always get you more of the behaviours that you are seeking.
When you give feedback the recipient understands exactly which aspects of their work you value so highly because you describe their behaviours and the impact that they had – specifically – significantly increasing the chances of you getting more of that type of behaviour in the future.