An Excellent Way to Affirm Audience Participation

I spoke last night at a local parish to a group of dedicated religious education teachers.  We spent over an hour looking at best practices of content delivery and shared our common struggles and successes.  I recalled the example set by a Seton Hall Professor who would always affirm student participation.  Instead of "Cool answer" or "Ok", he would follow up with "thank you for that".

The next time you are in a meeting or leading a workshop, try "thank you for that" after someone offers their two cents.  It's a small detail which can make a big difference.