
- Praise the behaviour, not the person: Focus on someone’s actions rather than their character or personality. This prevents making people feel defensive or attacked and makes comments more actionable and specific. Instead of “You’re a fantastic employee,” try saying “I truly like the way you handled that challenging customer interaction today.”
- Praise in public, criticise in private: This principle recognises the power dynamics that can come into play when giving feedback and suggests that praise should be given in public, where others can see and appreciate their accomplishments, and criticism should be given in private, where the person can receive the feedback without feeling embarrassed or humiliated.
- Praise with emotion, criticise without emotion: This principle suggests that genuine emotion and enthusiasm when praising can encourage positive behaviour. However, criticism should be given calmly and constructively. This can assist the person to receive criticism without feeling defensive or attacked.