Hello loyal aea365 readers! I’m Sheila B Robinson, aea365’s Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor. Thank you for being “here” today and reading this post! As I was searching for inspiration for this Saturday’s post, I turned to our aea365 archives and found a post from fall 2010 by Susan Kistler (thank you Susan!) that really resonated with me and her message bears repeating.
Lesson Learned: Whenever you feel appreciation for people, let them know. That’s it. Just do it.
- Thank the person who helped you tweak that survey question to get it just right.
- Thank the people who gave up their time to participate in a focus group.
- Thank the interviewee who trusted you enough to be so forthcoming with information.
- Thank the people who opened their doors and gave you access to the site for your observation.
- Thank the professor, workshop facilitator, or book author from whom you learned important skills that contribute to your professional success.
- Thank the research assistant, data analyst, or statistician who pored over the data to help you make sense of it.
- Thank your client for choosing to hire you for the job, or your employer for giving you the opportunity to do evaluation work.
- Thank the blogger whose post gave you insight, taught you something, or inspired something in your work.
- Thank those who freely share their resources and materials.
- Thank the Tweeters, Facebookers, LinkedIn-ers, Google+ers, and others on social media who offer innovative ideas, experiential wisdom, and links to great content.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of wonderful authors and volunteer curators who have so graciously contributed to make aea365 my very favorite evaluation blog (and yours too, I hope!) and a tremendous crowd-sourced treasure trove of evaluation know-how!
Hot Tip: Make someone’s day today by saying “thank you.”
Rad Resources: Some insights on the importance of saying thank you:
Why It is Important to Say “Thank You”
Why ‘Thank You’ is More Than Just Good Manners
Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.
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