Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when you say something nice to someone,
Speaker 1: follow up by putting it in a written format. That way,
Speaker 1: the person you are praising can be encouraged by your
Speaker 1: words again and again. Hopefully you are the sort of
Speaker 1: person who praises people frequently. There is almost always something
Speaker 1: to be celebrated, even in situations where all has not
Speaker 1: gone perfectly, and it is good to point out what
Speaker 1: goes well, But spoken praise tends to be fleeting. You
Speaker 1: praise someone's work in a meeting and they beam, but
Speaker 1: then it is over. The person will try to recall
Speaker 1: what you said and may repeat what they remember to
Speaker 1: their spouse that night, but it can become nebulous over time.
Speaker 1: The solution helped make it more concrete by putting it
Speaker 1: in writing. This really doesn't have to be complicated. After
Speaker 1: a situation in which you've been able to praise someone,
Speaker 1: send a note afterwards repeating what you said. Mary, I
Speaker 1: just wanted to reiterate what I said in the meeting.
Speaker 1: I'm so thrilled with the work you've done to make
Speaker 1: this a more cohesive team. I can see how much
Speaker 1: more effective everyone is under your guidance. Now the person
Speaker 1: has something they can look at again and again, they
Speaker 1: won't forget any of the nuances or any extra bits
Speaker 1: it might have thrown in. If a child has on
Speaker 1: something great, you can praise it at the dinner table,
Speaker 1: but then follow up with a handwritten note mentioning how
Speaker 1: proud you are. Even gruff older children tend to put
Speaker 1: these somewhere other than the garbage can. There are certainly
Speaker 1: situations where you can be more formal about this. If
Speaker 1: you are giving a toast at a wedding, consider writing
Speaker 1: the toast out and then given that written copy to
Speaker 1: the couple. If you are speaking mostly off the cuff,
Speaker 1: have someone record it and then you can transcribe it.
Speaker 1: This written record can then be something the couple includes
Speaker 1: in a wedding album or frame if it's nice enough.
Speaker 1: But the point is that even fleeting positive words can
Speaker 1: be given more weight when they are put into written form.
Speaker 1: The whole point of inventing writing was that it allowed
Speaker 1: people to reference things over and over again without keeping
Speaker 1: everything in their heads. Compliments deserve this special treatment as
Speaker 1: much as records or anything else. So put it in writing.
Speaker 1: That way, when you say something nice about someone, they
Speaker 1: can relive the compliment again and again. That makes the
Speaker 1: happiness last. And it is a very good use of
Speaker 1: a few extra minutes in the meantime. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Beforefast Pod that's b E the number four, then breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.