PRINCIPLE 6：
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.
Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
In short， if you want to improve a person in a certain spect，act as though that particular trait were already one of his or heroutstanding characteristics. Shakespeare said “Assume a virtue， ifyou have it not.” And it might be well to assume and state openlythat other people have the virtue you want them to develop. Givethem a fine reputation to live up to， and they will make prodigiousefforts rather than see you disillusioned.
Georgette Leblanc， in her book Souvenirs， My Life withMaeterlinck， describes the startling transformation of a humbleBelgian Cinderella.
“A servant girl from a neighboring hotel brought my meals，”
she wrote. “She was called ‘marie the Dish washer’ because shehad started her career as a scullery assistant. She was a kind ofmonster， cross-eyed， bandylegged， poor in flesh and spirit.
“One day， while she was holding my plate of macaroniin herred hand， I said to her point-blank， ‘Marie， you do not know whattreasures are within you.’
“Accustomed to holding back her emotion， Marie waited afew moments， not daring to risk the slightest gesture for fear ofa castastrophe. Then she put the dish on the table， sighed andsaid ingenuously， ‘madame， I would never have believed it.’ Shedid not doubt， she did not ask a question. She simply went backto the kitchen and repeated what I had said， and such is the forceof faith that no one made fun of her. From that day on， she waseven given a certain consideration. But the most curious change of all occurred in the humble Marie herself. Believing she was thetabernacle of unseen marvels， she began taking care of her faceand body so carefully that her starved youth seemed to bloomand modestly hide her plainness.
“Two months later， she announced her coming marriage withthe nephew of the chef. ‘ I’m going to be a lady，’ she said， andthanked me. A small phrase had changed her entire life.”
There is an old saying： “Give a dog a bad name and you mayas well hang him.” But give him a good name—and see whathappens！