Who doesn't like being praised for their work? Is it an area exclusively reserved for bosses? What is it about praise that makes people so uncomfortable?
It's something I started noticing when I passed my colleagues doing what I thought was a spectacular job. I told them so and got a response that implied that they thought I was mocking them. I definitely wasn't. I was genuinely impressed with their work.
I praised my husband for the excellent job he did for me (a small, but, for me, important task). He thought I was being sarcastic. I now wonder if it's the way I say it...
Telling my boss that her organisation of an event was very impressive ended up looking as though I was 'sucking up'.
Is there no easy way to praise? I know I'm guilty of not always accepting praise with grace. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all accept praise with a simple and gracious, "Why, thank you!"
A blog worth reading on the Power of Praise can be found here.
I know what you mean. We actually teach the kids in our school how to give a compliment but also how to receive one. So many people don't have a clue.
ReplyDeleteThe fun part is we, the teachers, are now learning it too. And doing it.
More schools should make it part of their curriculum because it doesn't always come natural to us, humans.
So, don't stop, even though people won't always understand it ... it's too much a part of who you are.
Eventually they will get used to it and maybe start doing it themselves too.
It is something that happens here in New Zealand as well. But also the same response often happens when people are given a gift, they find it hard to give a simple thank you and a smile.
ReplyDeleteSeems there are a few comments that Multiply failed to tell me about. Perhaps this whole blog import fiasco was worth it for this ;)
ReplyDeleteFunny you mentioned teaching, Riete. It's true, we teach how to give compliments, not receive them. We just assume that praise will be well taken.
And yes, Lois... the same goes for gifts.