All of us know that people who receive appreciation for their efforts are more productive and motivated than people whose efforts are never noticed or appreciated. When there is a positive outcome of the actions, we tend to remain actively engaged in work.

When a person receives praise in any way, it makes him or her feel good, and there is a natural feeling which motivates him or her to receive more appreciation. He/She will be ready to help because he/she knows that their efforts are not going to waste. When all of us start giving and receiving praise, the results will be surprisingly good. It will make a better community that helps each other and also when it comes to working at a reputed company, the environment in the workplace will be nice and positive.

How to Praise or Appreciate Someone?

Praising or appreciating someone should be done with complete honesty,  but at the same time, it is something that requires practice. We can learn to praise someone most effectively just by changing our point of view and understanding others’ point of view. We need to understand that every work requires some effort, and every little effort must be appreciated.

Praising is complimenting someone and expressing our gratitude towards the efforts that someone makes to complete a particular task. Praising can be used to congratulate a person for making progress or abiding by the rules. Appreciation works amazingly to motivate someone and boost their performance and confidence. When you praise someone, say, your family members, a child, or one of your friends, it surely makes them feel good and boosts their self-esteem or sense of dignity.

Though there are many words for praise in English, we will choose some and try to categorize them depending upon the occasion and place.

When someone does a great job, we can use the words and phrases mentioned below to compliment the person:

•         Outstanding!
•         Keep it up.
•         Keep up the good work.
•         Great job!
•         You have outdone yourself.
•         Excellent!
•         Good work.
•         I am proud of you.
•         I am impressed.
•         This is impressive.
•         Congratulations!
•         Remarkable job.
•         Great performance.
•         Fantastic!
•         Well done!

The words above can be used in many situations depending upon your personal preferences. If you are looking for some words to praise your friends or colleagues for their good performance informally, below are a few words that I believe are good to be used in informal situations:

•         You have done a wonderful job.
•         Way to go.
•         You have made your mark on this place.
•         I wish I could perform like you!
•         You are incredible.
•         Your performance never ceases to amaze me.

The list can go on for thousands of words, but there are some words I usually notice around me. Now, let us have a look at some words and phrases that you can use to appreciate someone’s efforts even if they did not do the best job that they could. As I said earlier, even if the person is not able to give the best results when we compare him with others, we should still appreciate their efforts and encourage them to do their best. It’s likely to believe that he or she may have tried their best, so their efforts are supposed to be appreciated. Usually, people fail at praising someone who tried their best but could not outlast other performers. In such cases, you can use the below phrases to appreciate an individual’s attempts.

•         Well tried.
•         Nice efforts.
•         That’s more like it.
•         Keep working on it.
•         You are on the right track.
•         I am sure you can do better.
•         You have moved one step ahead, keep going.

The list of complimenting words is never-ending. We can come up with new ways to appreciate someone’s efforts as per our choice of words. There is nothing to be worried about praising someone because you are never wrong when you appreciate someone for making an effort to accomplish a task. However, I would suggest that one should keep in mind that they use formal words and expressions when they praise someone in a formal environment.

Effective Ways to Appreciate Someone

When you praise someone, observe their expressions and responses. This process will gradually help you learn some of the most appropriate words or phrases to be used on specific occasions. Eventually, it will help you become an expert at praising people as well as a skilled communicator. A person who knows how to praise others can get his or her work done seamlessly without fail.

Here are a few examples for you when you want to appreciate someone’s efforts on different occasions and in different situations:

•         You have done an outstanding job on this project.
•         You’re doing great, just keep it up.
•         Your scores are excellent. Keep up the good work.
•         Bravo! It is a good start.
•         She is a great cook, but she has outdone herself this time.
•         You did an excellent job.
•         Hats off to you for working on two projects at once.
•         Way to go- you have got the position!
•         I admire your work ethics.
•         You inspire me to do better.
•         You have achieved the minimum score, and I am sure you can do better.
•         The application code is working. You are on the right track.
•         You are good at your job.

I hope you are now well aware of the importance of praising, complimenting or appreciating someone, and you will start appreciating the efforts of those people who you work, live, or socialize with.

Conclusion

Appreciating or praising someone for doing a good job and for making the effort to finish a given task always works in your favour. However, you need to be honest when you appreciate or praise someone because they will most probably know whether you’re being honest or not.

When you appreciate someone’s efforts, no matter who it is, it encourages them to do better in the future. Your words have a great impact on people and being good at appreciating or praising people will also help you become a skilled communicator.