Summary and Reaction to "Praise" from TED-TALK

The speaker firstly pointed out that “the importance of praise” is the topic of the speech. She told her audiences that she got interested in it few years ago when she wanted to praise someone but ended up feeling shy and embarrassed to do so. Then she said that she noticed how essential it is to praise someone by referencing her working experience in a rehab center. Witnessing an old man who is addicted to drugs dying without having told his son that he is proud of him stimulated her to make this point. The old man told everyone else how proud he is of his son; yet he didn't know that his son needed to hear it because he never asked.

The speech was basically saying, “Why don't we ask for the things we want?” It implicates that we should be honest about the praise we want to hear. It is fine to ask for returning gratitude from someone even when we are supposed to the things. For example, husbands are able to ask their wives say something like “thank you for staying home to play with kids.” In fact, it’s good to tell people “Would you praise me this way?” The speaker used the word “Praise” a lot to indicate the necessity of showing one’s gratitude to have someone in their life. In addition, she mentioned "truing your wheels." She said she took her old bike into a shop to get it fixed up to look brand new, which means starting new or fresh in life. Starting a new chapter means becoming a new person in some aspects. Another point was that she said ask questions. You might not be asked questions about how you feel, or maybe this other person in your life don’t ask himself or herself either. Then she said "help the people around you." She talked briefly about world peace, different cultures, and languages. She said "the way to start world peace is to start it at home." Asking and then helping surrounding people when they are in need is a way to improve world peace. Going back to the point, if you never ask the question, you will probably never know the answer.

It’s an inspiring speech to remind us the indispensability of compliment. We are prone to hide our feelings most of the time. Or, we are always too shy to ask others for words that would make us feel good. Nevertheless, praising someone or to be praised is a wonderful thing that will make our life happier and prettier. After listening to the audio, all I did was track memory to the past and introspect the embarrassing and complaining moments in my life. I used to feel weird when telling people how good they are but then got silent smiles; I used to complain people who are not generous to give their compliment. It does nice to hear or to say compliment, while we tend to be too shy to receive or to express it. Thanks to the speech, I will put the importance of praise in mind. I will be brave to say it out and to ask for it, starting a fresh chapter in my life. In a nutshell, I will fulfill points that the speaker proposed- go asking people around me and be honest about the praise that I need to hear. I guess world peace will start to be improved by doing so and by bravely asking questions as well as taking action to help people who are in need.