At your next parent-teacher meeting, ask your child’s instructors whether they would like to raise class participation and grades by nearly 30%. When they look at you skeptically, say all that’s necessary is for them to personally greet each student as they enter the classroom. A study conducted by a professor at Oklahoma State University found that simply smiling and saying hello boosted kids’ productivity and teacher mood, thus creating a more personal and positive learning atmosphere. (Imagine that!)
In fact, the professor suggests the same thing could happen in business. Instead of go-get-’em memos to make employees bear down, a smile and hello from the boss each morning would probably do a better motivational job. And that’s not all. Relationship experts believe that many marriages fail because of the “disease of inattention.” Taking the time to genuinely greet your spouse, whether in the morning or after work, might be the only therapy needed.
But wait a minute. Could it really be this simple? Could a one-word, five-letter acknowledgment result in such a big difference? Could it truly make us (and the world) more carefree, productive, and happy? We decided to conduct our own experiment. In the normal course of our day, we started saying hello to everyone we crossed paths with—on the road, at work, in stores, at home, via text messages, and even on the Internet. (Ever notice how nobody says “Hi” anymore in e-mails?) Strangers, spouses, surly supermarket clerks…it didn’t matter: We became a hello machine.
And you know what? It works. Although it wasn’t easy at first, once we got into the habit, it was fun and effective. Drivers started returning our waves during our morning walks. Supermarket staff began greeting us and pointing out the day’s deals on orange juice and ground chuck. People in the neighborhood we didn’t know miraculously became people who stopped to chat. And our days became a little less stressful, just like that. The effort of reaching out helped us relax.
Try it. Make a game of it. Count your hellos. See if you can make the grumpiest person you don’t know acknowledge you. A guy named Scott Ginsberg has actually made a career of this. He’s been wearing a “Hello, My Name is Scott” name tag for nearly 9 years. (He even has one tattooed on his chest!) The experience has enabled him to launch a website (hellomynameisscott.com), write a book on approachability, and launch a speaking business.
While you don’t have to go that far, see what happens when you become just a little friendlier for a morning or day. And in the process, don’t overlook the most important person of all in this experiment. Each morning after you get up and each night before you sleep, shoot a smile to yourself by way of the bathroom mirror.
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