Praise that names a specific action gives a person something useful to repeat.

General praise feels good and teaches nothing. Told they are great, a person is left guessing which part to do again. Told that the way they named the objection early kept the meeting from souring, they have something they can actually repeat. Specific praise is instruction wearing a friendly coat.

The next time you are pleased with someone’s work, name the move rather than the person. One sentence about what they did and what it made possible is worth more than a paragraph of warmth.