People show their best selves with a clever public platform which encourages them to say something nice to strangers passing by the podium.
As a member of the public I have on many occasions passed on a compliment to a complete stranger and seen their faces absolutely light up with surprise and joy from the encounter. Interactions like that don’t only uplift the person receiving the compliment but also give the person sharing the compliment a piece of happiness and feel good vibes.
It’s things like sharing a compliment or a smile that can completely change a persons day for the better. Recently a podium with a megaphone was set up in the middle of a busy street and had one instruction, ‘Say something nice!’.
“Within a few minutes people starting using the megaphone. There is always a crowd of people at this part of Union Square, so there was a built-in audience of people sitting on the steps.”
People from all walks of life took part in the experiment from young children to the elderly and everybody in between. People sang songs, shared best wishes for the day and shouted how much they loved New York. One woman even shouted birthday wishes to anyone celebrated and received thanks in return.
Another woman called out to a lady walking by with a blue umbrella just to tell her that she loved the umbrella and that it was pretty, she received a gracious curtsy in response to the compliment.
“We were pleased that the vast majority of the people who encountered the lectern got the spirit of what we were going for.”
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