Both of the articles I read, The Trouble with Amazing and What Kind of Messages Help Kids Grow? talk about how to change your verbiage and be more specific when giving praise. As a mom, I have told my son "Good Job!" or "You did so good at practice!" a million times. I mean sometimes I am specific but more often than not it's a quick good job and move along. These articles made me really think about how being specific can help him and anyone else I am ever giving feedback to. If someone did a bad job at something, one wouldn't just say "dang that's bad" or "you suck!" There is always usually a follow up on why it was bad, because it is so much easier to point out the flaws of something than it is the good. When giving constructive feedback, I also feel like your verbiage is important too.
When we give feedback to strangers, it is easy to be vague or stretch the truth some. If i'm a guest at someone's house and they made some dinner that is just not very good to me, i'm probably not going to give them constructive feedback because that would be awkward and it is easier to say "Yum!" than admit that the food is awful. But when it comes to our close friends and families, giving constructive feedback can be easier depending on your relationship with them. These articles reminded me to be more conscious of my verbiage and to be a little more gentle when giving feedback without lying. On the other side, it also reminded me to be way more specific when giving praise to people, it can go along way and has been proven to have a lasting impact.
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