Good Job! Yes! Great! Well Done! Perfect! – Meaningless words with good intentions

We are all guilty of doing it. After 20 years of teaching, I still catch myself occasionally saying “good job”. But there are tons of reasons to get away from the generalized compliments and shift to specific praise!

What is specific praise? Specific praise is feedback or acknowledgement that clearly highlights specific behaviors, actions or achievements. So say you are working with a rider on having a soft following hand. In their lesson, they have a moment where their hands are connected, soft and following their horse. You could tell them in the moment “That looks great!” but there is a good chance they don’t know what they did to make it look great.

However, if you give specific praise such as “I love the way your hands stayed soft and forward through your transition. This allowed your horse to flow freely into a better quality trot.” then they will get a better understanding of what they did to “look great”.

Specific praise provides clear feedback about the accomplishment being recognized. This clarity will help the rider understand exactly what they did well, and why it was valued. This makes it easier for them to do it again in the future!

Specific praise also highlights areas of improvement. By focusing on specific aspects of performance, riders can better understand how to refine their skills and achieve even greater success in the future.

Specific praise tends to be more meaningful and motivating than generalized praise because it demonstrates a genuine understanding and appreciation of the rider’s efforts or achievements. When riders receive specific praise, they are more likely to feel seen, encouraged, and motivated to continue striving for success.

Enhances riders’ self confidence. When riders receive specific praise for their efforts, they are more likely to develop a sense of competence and confidence in their abilities, which can encourage their willingness to tackle new challenges and persist when faced with obstacles.

Specific praise demonstrates attentiveness and thoughtfulness, which can strengthen relationships between rider and coach – fostering a supportive and positive environment. When a rider feels seen, valued, and appreciated, it enhances the working relationship.

Last, if you have other students or parents watching, specific praise can provide learning for others!

Are you sold yet? Because it really does work! If you are guilty of the habit give this a try to incorporate more meaningful words in your lessons:

Three steps to break the habit

For 10 lessons or so, just simply try to notice when you do it – if you can notice it you can change it.

Now that you are aware, take the pause after the generalized praise and add to it! So, you say “Good Job!” (habit) ….. Then you add in the what and why before moving on “holding your hands forward, now your horse has a more relaxed trot!”.

Over time you phase out the meaningless words and you’ll be enlightening your riders with specific praise!