How to Become an Encourager
 

by Rick Saldan

Debating as a vocation, in my school was a big thing. Students who were good in this segment of the school curriculum were praised, rewarded and those were not too adept at it, were ignored. Unfortunately I belonged to the latter group and it would not be an understatement to say that I did feel left out during those couple of years. Soon luck changed and a new principal joined the school. What struck me as odd at that time was that his main task, as he met the students gradually, was to handpick the students who were shy, reticent and in other words, not front runners in any particular vocation. He also noticed me and several others who were left out of mainstream debating events and spent many hours with us since our first meeting to explain various aspects of debating and how important it is to become a public speaker. Winning he said, should not be the sole aim in life, but participating is. These encouraging words, heard at a tender age, took me miles ahead in later life, as I not only conquered stage fright, but became an avid and admired presenter in my professional sphere. I gained self-confidence, felt great about my self and what is important, I started to believe that I can do anything, if I sincerely wanted to do it. Not just gaining in my personal and professional life, this early experience taught me the importance of ‘encouragement' and what tremendous impact I can make in some one's life, if I became a good encourager.

One of the first things which an encourager can achieve is he can build and sustain a good team. Employees in an organization would hardly think of switching jobs if they get a superior who constantly nudges them to move forward with his encouraging words, even in the face of adversity. A school teacher can restore discipline and put his wayward students back on track with only a few regular words of encouragement. Here are some tips to become a good encourager where you not only bring happiness and motivate others, but also become a better boss, partner, friend, co-worker, or whichever roles you play in your life. a smile, a pat on the back, a tip or some nice words can take you miles in achieving not just your personal goals but help in motivating various people who cross your patch in life. Do you remember that glee on the car mechanic's face, when you praised his talent in front of the owner of the car workshop, who was his boss? Having said this far about the importance of becoming an encourager, here are some tips to get you started:

• Notice the strengths in people rather than their weaknesses.

• Make it a habit to pass a positive comment about some one's abilities. This helps ion increasing self-confidence.

• Never reprimand your junior in front of others. On the same side, never reward anyone in private.

• Try and personalize your encouragement. For instance, tell or write to some personally that you believe in his capability and have put a lot of trust in his talent and expertise. Any encouraging statement goes waste if the person who it is meant for, gets to hear of it last.

• Be specific in your encouragement. Timeliness, discipline, courage, quantity of output, or which ever reason that you are encouraging him for, must be clear to the recipient.

• Be encouraging even when things are going not the way it was planned. A smiling and cheerful deportment goes a long way in encouraging your team or family to walk that extra mile to achieve their goals and ambitions.

• To be an encouraging parent, take your children for what they are without being critical. Respect them as responsible adults and they would respect you too. Constant bickering about their failures, that also in front of others would take you far away from being encouraging parents. Remember to praise or thank them for even the smallest deed and you would have happy children in the family.

You must realize the importance of being an encourager in which ever role you play in life. Be it parent, superior, colleague, supervisor, field worker or whatever role you are playing at this instant, needs encouragement and which you must provide to others to get the best actions from others.