Kind Words
Offer someone kind words and they might feel better or move in a positive direction.
That’s all it takes. A few words of encouragement makes them feel seen, appreciated or even courageous.
One example from my professional life: Launching Accessibility Weekly and turning it into a regular newsletter. When I posted about the possibility on Twitter years ago, Marcy Sutton Todd, a frontend engineer I admired in the accessibility space said, “Do it!!!” I did.
Months later after I started the newsletter, and sent a handful of issues, I struggled to keep up with it weekly. Dave Rupert, another frontend engineer and cohost of the popular Shoptalk Show podcast, mentioned it on an episode.
There was an A11y Weekly, but it sort of petered out. But it was pretty good… Good examples of accessibility chatter.
When I heard that, I thought, “Whoa! People are reading this thing.”
I sent a thank you tweet to Dave, and got a reply:
Keep it up! It’s really good. Perfect-sized tidbits.
This became a turning point for Accessibility Weekly. Soon after that exchange, I started to send it out weekly, making it hold up to its name. The newsletter turns nine in September.
We need more kind words out there. If you have something kind to say, do it. You never know the effect it might have.