How to Accept a Compliment

Receiving a compliment can be somewhat embarrassing. It is often difficult to know how to respond to a compliment. Many people naturally look away from the person paying the compliment, invalidate the compliment by saying it isn’t true or give a half-hearted thank you. These reactions not only insult the person paying the compliment but don’t encourage anyone to pay you more compliments in the future! Knowing the correct way to accept to a compliment is important--here's how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Look the person in the eye when they are speaking to you. Even though it can be somewhat embarrassing to receive a compliment, it is more respectful to the person who is giving you the compliment to look at her while she speaks.
2. Recognize that someone has taken the time to notice something about you that she appreciates or admires. You can do this by saying something like, “Wow. I really appreciate that you noticed that.” A simple comment like this lets the person know that you understand, appreciate and believe their compliment. By showing the person your appreciation you are validating the compliment without sounding cocky.
3. Say “Thank you” with meaning. Many times people feel that the proper way to accept a compliment is to try to water it down with disqualifying comments like, “If you only knew…” or “Well, thanks for saying it even if it isn’t true.” This is both rude to the person giving the compliment and unappreciative--they have noticed something nice about you.
4. Understand that you do not have to give a compliment in return. If you would like to return the compliment, that's fine. Trying to rush a quick compliment without much thought will be obvious and the person will realize that you are Just trying to be polite and that your compliment probably isn’t sincere.

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t laugh at the person giving you a compliment. The person may already be nervous about complimenting you; don’t make it worse for them.