GIVING AND RECEIVING COMPLIMENTS

Giving and receiving compliments How do you give compliments in your home country? Tell your partner. Have you ever given someone a compliment in Canada? Tell your partner about it. What did you say? How did it go? Did you ever give someone a compliment and it didn’t work?

Giving and receiving compliments Someone drops by at dinnertime. You open a can of cream of mushroom soup, add some leftover chicken and serve it on Minute Rice. Your guest says: “You’re a great cook!” What do you think? “I don’t think so.” “That person is lying, or they don’t know good food.”

Giving and receiving compliments You’re in old jeans and a T-shirt. You change into a suit for a meeting. Your co-worker says: “You are always so well dressed!” You think: “You should have seen me an hour ago!”

Giving and receiving compliments You are learning how to play tennis. You can’t serve the ball. It always goes into the net, not over the net. Today you are playing with a new partner, you serve the ball and it is a great serve! Your partner says: “You have a perfect serve!” You think: “That won’t happen again.” “He thinks I’m a good player. Now I’m nervous.”

Giving and receiving compliments Sometimes saying “You are good, beautiful, or perfect” can make someone nervous. It works better if you can describe what you see, hear, or feel: “The colors in that necklace match your dress.” “The meeting started and ended on time.” “The exam covered everything we learned in class.” “When you tell jokes I laugh and I want to come back the next day.”

Giving and receiving compliments You try! With a partner, think of compliments you can say about the people in the picture. What can you say about the office?

Giving and receiving compliments

Now think about your teacher John. What could you say about the way that he teaches? Have you ever gotten good service in a store or restaurant? What was good about it? Tell your partner. How about your partner. Is there a compliment you can give to him or her? “I notice that you are on time every day and do your homework.” “You try to answer all the questions.”

Giving and receiving compliments: kids If a child draws you a picture, NEVER try to guess what it is. Just say what you see. Praise children and teenagers by describing what you see: Instead of “The scarf you made me is very nice.” Say: “Look at this deep red color and all the rows of even stitches! It’s wide and long and will keep me warm this winter.” Instead of “Your room is clean”, what could you say?

Oh-oh When compliments don’t work: Male – female: what’s right, what’s wrong Too much Remind you of bad things in the past: “You finally wrote a good report.” “Dinner was actually good today.” “You look good today.”

Giving and receiving compliments What do you say when you receive a compliment? Thank you. Thank you very much. In Canada, men insult each other instead of compliment: “Nice haircut. Did you run into a lawn mower?” “Nah. Angry girlfriend.”