The Importance of Honest, Sincere Appreciation

There is a big difference between honest, sincere appreciation and flattery. Ensure that there is never any confusion between real appreciation and a hollow or meaningless comment. The more specific you can be in your appreciation, the better. It’s not enough to just say, “good job,” rather you should be specific in what you appreciate about their good work. To help you identify specific items for praise, we’ve created a few tought starters for you.

• Things – People are usually proud of things that they own or possess.


• Achievements – Are areas of study, research, projects of anything that takes focused, converted effort.  People are generally proud of their achievements, and appreciate receiving recognition for them.


• Personal Traits – Every person is unique.  Understanding what makes someone unique and how these positive characteristics help them succeed is really one of the best keys to unlocking truly meaningful praise and appreciation.


• Evidence – Evidence always creates credibility.  When it comes to recognition and appreciation,  evidence shows people that your observations about them are sincere.

Access all 30 Dale Carnegie principles in a convenient PDF guide, Dale Carnegie’s Secrets of Success.