Beyond Saying Thank You: Designing Appreciation and Acknowledgement Conversations That Feel Authentic | by Jennifer Britton

A defining feature of group and team coaching conversations is increasingly becoming the deep connection between members. In a world which can feel disconnected, and isolating, this is extremely valuable. Over the last year in my training with group and team coaches I have noticed an increasing interest by coaches in having more tools and approaches for facilitating appreciation and acknowledgement conversations. This article explores designing and incorporating more appreciation and acknowledgement conversations.

Sometimes appreciation activities leave participants feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or unconvinced. Generic compliments, mandatory recognition rounds, or annual appreciation events often miss the mark because they focus on the activity rather than the conversation.

As coaches, facilitators, and team leaders, our role isn't simply to create opportunities for people to say "thank you." It's to design experiences where people genuinely recognize one another's contributions, understand the impact they have on others, and strengthen the relationships that make teams successful.

Authentic appreciation doesn't just happen by accident. It happens through intentional conversation.

Start with Purpose

Before inviting participants into an appreciation exercise, take time to explore why appreciation matters.

Meaningful acknowledgement contributes to:

• Building trust and psychological safety
• Strengthening relationships across the team
• Increasing engagement and belonging
• Reinforcing positive behaviours
• Creating a culture where people feel seen and valued

When people understand the purpose behind the activity, they are far more likely to participate in an authentic way.

Rather than introducing the exercise as a fun team-building activity, frame it as an opportunity for the team or group to connect on a deeper level, and to recognize the everyday actions and contributions that help the team or group succeed.

Move Beyond Recognition to Acknowledgement and Appreciation

Many organizations use the terms recognition, acknowledgement, and appreciation interchangeably. While they are closely related, they are not the same. Each represents a different level of conversation, and a different opportunity to strengthen team culture.

As facilitators, we can help teams move beyond simply noticing contributions to creating conversations that reinforce purpose, relationships, and collaboration.

For example:

Recognition: "Thanks for submitting the report on time."

Acknowledgement: "Your thorough analysis gave us the confidence to move forward."

Appreciation: "Your thoughtful analysis not only helped us make a better decision, but it also reduced stress across the team, allowing us to meet an important deadline. Thank you for bringing that level of care to the project."

In brief:

• Recognition starts the conversation.
• Acknowledgement helps people understand why their contribution mattered.
• Appreciation creates connection because it helps people understand the positive difference they made.

Make Appreciation Specific

One of the biggest reasons appreciation feels forced is because it lacks specificity. Statements like "You're amazing" or "Great job!" are well intended, but they rarely tell someone what they actually did well.  Instead, encourage participants to focus on observable behaviours and contributions.

Invite statements such as:

• I appreciated how you...
• One thing you contributed was...
• You helped our team by...
• I learned from you when...
• Because of your support, we were able to...

Specific examples make appreciation genuine and memorable.

Give People Time to Reflect

Not everyone is comfortable expressing appreciation immediately.

Rather than asking participants to respond on the spot, build in a few minutes of quiet reflection.

Consider questions such as:

• Who positively influenced your work this month?
• Who helped you overcome a challenge?
• Who consistently contributes behind the scenes?
• What contribution deserves greater acknowledgement?
• Who may not realize the positive impact they have had?

Reflection often leads to more thoughtful conversations.

Create Psychological Safety

Appreciation should never feel like a performance. Some people enjoy speaking in front of a group. Others would rather write a note, share in pairs, or contribute anonymously.

Consider offering different formats, including:

• Creating groups of three where two people share their appreciations with one person at a time. This can provide a variety of perspectives around appreciation.
• Written appreciation cards
• Anonymous recognition
• Whole-team sharing

Exploring different options for the appreciation conversation allows everyone to participate in a way that feels comfortable while still contributing to the collective experience.

Design Conversations That Go Deeper

One of the simplest ways to move beyond surface-level appreciation is to guide participants through three questions:

What did you notice? (Recognition)

Why did it matter? (Acknowledgement)

What difference did it make? (Appreciation)

This progression transforms a simple compliment into a meaningful conversation about contribution and impact.

Supporting group and team members through the conversation can be facilitated with prompts such as:

• Whose contribution made your work easier this month?
• Who challenged your thinking in a positive way?
• What strength did you see someone demonstrate under pressure?
• Who helped create momentum for the team?
• What action had a greater impact than people may realize?
• What is one contribution that deserves more acknowledgement?

These questions encourage participants to notice not only results, but also behaviours, effort, collaboration, and the ripple effect individuals have across the team.

Make Appreciation an Ongoing Practice

As we’ve explored, appreciation is an important part of strengthening the fabric of a team or group experience, including the opportunity to boost trust and connection. Rather than being a “one-off”, consider building in appreciation across the year.  For example, you might consider incorporating appreciation:

• At the end of project debriefs
• During regular team meetings
• At key milestones
• Following challenging projects
• During onboarding
• As part of coaching conversations

Small, consistent moments of acknowledgement often have a greater impact than a single annual recognition event.

Final Thoughts

As Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

As coaches and facilitators, we have an opportunity to create experiences where people leave feeling seen, valued, and connected.

When we intentionally design conversations that move through all three levels of recognition, appreciation and acknowledgement, we strengthen relationships, reinforce positive behaviours, and contribute to a culture where people genuinely value one another's contributions.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:

• Effective Group Coaching 101: The 5 Key Skills Any Group Coach Needs! also by Jennifer Britton
• Gratitude That Grounds and Grows Your Coaching Practice by Dr Steve Jeffs MCC
• 3 Easy Ways to Take Your Gratitude Journaling to the Next Level by Lynda Monk CPCC

Contributing Author:

Jennifer Britton, MES, CHRP, CPT, PCC-ACTC, has influenced a generation of coaches in the realms of team and group coaching. You may have read her writing (she’s the author of 7 books), including Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010), the first book in the world to be published on the topic of group coaching; From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching; or her latest, Reconnecting Workspaces: Pathways to Thrive in the Virtual, Remote and Hybrid World (2021).

In 2025 Jennifer is leading a series of workshops around Coaching and Change, supporting coaches via Experiential Tools Under the Conversation Sparker Experiential Roadshow™. You can bring her in for a half-day or full day workshop.

Since 2006, Jennifer's Group Coaching Essentials (10 CCEs) and Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs) programs have become known as the must-do training in the area of group coaching. The two courses have now grown into ten distinct courses that group and team coaches can take – whether coaches want to work towards the ACTC (Advanced Credential for Team Coaching) or simply want to develop their practice.The two courses have now grown into ten distinct courses that group and team coaches can take – whether coaches want to work towards the ACTC (Advanced Credential for Team Coaching) or simply want to develop their practice. 

Focused on providing coaches with best practices in designing, marketing and implementing group coaching, these programs have helped thousands of coaches launch their own group and team coaching programs in a wide variety of settings (public, corporate, non-profit). These advanced courses dive deeper int the development of the coach, neuroscience of group and team coaching, and coaching a range of diverse clients which naturally exists in group and team coaching

Potentials Realized's ICF-CCE programs are geared for aspiring group and team coaches, especially those wanting to work toward the New Advanced Credential in Team Coaching (ACTC) with the ICF.

Also check out our neuroscience course for group and team coaches (NLE-A), Team Coaching Essentials  and ACTIVATE Your Team and Group Coaching Superpowers. Prefer podcasts? Listen into the Coaching Many Podcast.

Learn more about Jennifer & see all their articles here >>