Translator: Hiroko Kawano Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
This is my classmate.
And this is my classmate a moment later.
This is my other classmate.
And this is her another moment later.
What do you think happened between the first and second pictures?
A compliment.
What is a compliment?
What is its physical effect,
it's physiological effect,
and most of all, what is its power?
The definition of a compliment is described
as an expression of praise, commendation or admiration.
it is something you say to make someone feel better, feel happy
or even to receive a compliment back.
One day, I came across a post about an 18-year-old student from Chicago
named Shay Glover.
Shay conducted a social experiment within her school,
in which she asked students and teachers to be photographed.
She asked the students and teachers to pose for her, then said,
"I'm taking pictures of things I find beautiful."
She then captured their genuine reaction to the compliments.
And the results were amazing.
The pictures began with people staring at the camera
with little to no facial expression.
Some were confused,
while others claimed they were not photogenic.
Shay then told them they were beautiful, and the pictures drastically changed.
The pictures taken after the compliments were filled with many smiles and laughs.
Some people smiled and laughed,
while others covered up their face or looked away.
These pictures were so beautiful
that Shay had to share with the world just what a compliment can do.
Shay's experiment showed me the physical effect of a compliment.
Feeling inspired by Shay's experiment,
I decided I had to do the experiment myself.
Just like Shay,
I began bringing my camera to class,
asking my classmates and teachers to let me take their picture.
Just like Shay, I had planned to take pictures
before and after I had given them a compliment.
I asked my classmates and teachers to pose for me,
then complimented them by saying things such as "Wow that's such a good picture"
or "You look so pretty today."
I then captured their genuine reaction to the compliments.
With capturing their genuine reactions,
I found my reactions were quite similar to Shay's.
My reactions were filled with many smiles and laughs.
While some people smiled and laughed,
others covered up their face or even looked away.
Take a look at what I captured.
This is before the compliment,
and this is after.
This is before the compliment,
and this is after.
These pictures turned out so well that I decided I needed to take more.
I began to bring my camera to class
asking my classmates to let me take their picture.
I was not quite sure how these pictures would turn out,
due to the fact that I was taking the pictures in front of the whole class.
I set up a chair and began taking pictures of my volunteers.
Just like previously,
I had planned take pictures
before and after I had given them a compliment.
However, before I could say anything,
a girl within my class complimented the girl in the chair.
Next thing you know,
the girl in the chair was getting showered with many compliments,
and it was a chain reaction.
The girl in the chair could not contain her emotion
and could not even keep a straight face.
Take a look at the girl in my class.
This is before,
and this is after.
I found it truly amazing
that one girl within the class could begin a chain reaction of compliments
that changed the whole environment.
This showed me
that if one person says a compliment,
then there's one more compliment being passed on,
and we are one step closer to changing the world.
Among one of the girls who was photographed in my class
was my friend.
When photographing my friend, I complimented her by saying,
"Wow, you look so pretty today."
Her response to this was, "No, I look so bad today."
I continued to compliment her and finally got some smiles and laughs.
This is before,
and this is after.
After photographing my friend, I wondered to myself,
"Why some people react to a compliment in a negative way about themselves?"
This led me to dig deeper into a compliment
and find its physiological effects.
After doing research, I discovered
that compliments connect with your self-esteem.
People with low self-esteem might not like receiving a compliment
or might feel awkward receiving a compliment
because they feel it contradicts with how they feel about themselves.
Some people might not like receiving a compliment or accepting it
because they feel it can make you look immodest.
Although compliments can have a negative effect,
the positive effect always seems to overshadow.
According to Forbes' new research,
compliments can help improve performance in similar ways to receiving a cash award.
Researchers recruited 48 adults for a study.
They then separated the 48 adults into 3 groups to do a typing activity.
One group received compliments when doing the typing activity,
while one group didn't receive compliments when doing the typing activity,
and one group watched as the other group received compliments
when doing the typing activity.
The next day, when doing that same activity,
the group that was given compliments
were found to have done significantly better than the day before
and a lot better than the people within the other group,
who did not receive a compliment.
This concluded that receiving a compliment when doing a stimulated activity
can help improve performance even a full day afterwards.
This experiment was so amazing,
and it showed me the physiological effect of a compliment.
Everyone turn to the person next to you and give them a compliment.
(Murmuring) (Laughter)
Now,
(Chatting) (Laughter)
How many words was your compliment?
(Clapping)
How many words was your compliment?
The compliment I just thought of was "You look nice today."
"You look nice today" is four words.
I now want you to take a guess
as to how long it took you to say your compliment.
Mine took two seconds, and I'm assuming yours is similar.
OK, two seconds.
That's nothing.
Two seconds compared to the 86,400 seconds in a day.
Four words, that's nothing.
Four words and two seconds, that's effortless.
These words or compliments may be effortless to you,
but they could be everything to someone else.
They could be the reason someone smiles, someone laughs,
or someone's day turns around.
They could also be the reason a compliment is passed on
or you make a new friend.
So, four words, two seconds
to show someone the power of a compliment.
Thank you.
(Applause)