Real appreciation is a power tool!

From this article in Harvard Medical School: 

Researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania randomly divided university fund-raisers into two groups. One group made phone calls to solicit alumni donations in the same way they always had. The second group — assigned to work on a different day — received a pep talk from the director of annual giving, who told the fund-raisers she was grateful for their efforts. During the following week, the university employees who heard her message of gratitude made 50% more fund-raising calls than those who did not.

Dale Carnegie NL translated real appreciation into the TAPE method:

T: Things = small appreciations, for example:

• nice haircut
• nice dress

A: Achievements = medium appreciations like:

• great job on closing that deal yesterday
• thank you for your specific input on the risk controls in this project

P: Personal characteristics = the power tool, for example: 

• I really appreciate your positivity attitude
• I love your drive to be the best in your field

Tips for applying real appreciation: Trust is one of the most important building blocks for a team. To build a real connection that results in more trust, start with appreciating a personal characteristic. Be honest en thankful when doing this. You can look back at what you achieved together or what you admire from this person.

E: Evidence = essential to support your appreciation of T, A, P. For example:

• Last Monday you were so passionate about project X that I could really feel your drive and it gave me lot’s of energy to give it my all.