Life Skills > Interpersonal Intelligence >
Effective interpersonal communication skills is one of the eight vital elements of interpersonal life coaching skills and giving and receiving compliments, even in just one word, is the signification part of communication intelligence.In one sense, compliments for good work can be divided into two types
- Tangible (something that can be seen and felt)
- Non-tangible (something that can only be sensed
Examples of Compliments that are Tangible include:
- You are looking gorgeous with that blue dress today.
- The interior decoration of your home has an international appeal.
- Color of your presentation slides are very thematic. Keep it up.
Compliments' list that are intangible include:
- You have an upbeat voice
- I need to learn that quality of eternal patience from you.
- When it comes to handling challenging situations, my manager is the best.
How to Give Compliments
List of One Word Compliments
One word compliments can be broadly divided into SMILE PAINTINGS MnemonicSubconscious: smiling! WOW!Mystery: unbelievable!Intellect: intelligent, Pro, Brilliant, awesome, magnificent, fantastic, Location: There! Emotion: emotional! touching!Perception: wonderful, magnificent, marvelous, great, Action: acted! zoomed!Intimacy, Intensity: refer (emotion)Number: unique, exceptional, precise, super! ultimate!Time:timely!timing!Interrelationships: dynamic!Noun: Evident! Proved! Talent! Yes! How? You? We? Why? What? Goals/Aspirations: aspiring! inspiring! Senses: Visual: good-looking! SPOT is a yet another simple mnemonic that can help parents, business professionals and teachers to memorize the art of giving and receiving compliments.SPOT mnemonic stands for:-
- Specific
- Permission
- Complimenting Others
- Time
Good Compliments are Specific: To give a genuine compliment one must observe what is precisely so good about a person. People love to hear more specific praise that is unique and distinctive. Common words and phrases should be replaced with expressions that are more descriptive, expressive and individualistic.
You can add a specific compliment along with one word compliments. List of One Words Compliments include:
- Great!
- Brilliant!
- Awesome!
- Excellent!
- Magnifient!
- Fantastic!
- Wow!
Some examples of compliments for kids (common vs specific compliments):
- You are a good boy, I really like your behavior in front of elders
- That was a good show how did you manage to get that expressive face while enacting in that show? Very impressive
Ask Permission, especially when Giving Compliments in Business Situations: In business or at work, It is a ideal to ask whether the person is open to compliments as some people are sensitive to compliments. One can politely ask "Are you open to compliments?"
Giving Compliments also Mean Praising Others Praising others with a genuine intention serves two advantages:
- It encourages strong relationship and bonding
- It brings some of the admiring traits of others without being part of the conversation.
Time Plays a Vital Role: Complimenting your customers at the right time is as important as the words and phrases that you use. A good customer service agent would know whether to compliment in the beginning, middle or end of the conversation.
When to Give Compliments
Give compliments :- to persuade someone
- to empathize or sympathize with someone
- to build rapport
- While narrating stories or anecdotes
- As a persuasive statement
- When you're introducing yourself
- As transition statements in speech
- As presentation attention getter
- During assertive communication
- When you like to say, "NO" politely
- Delivering persuasive presentation
- When you are giving feedback
Verbal Communication Barriers while giving Compliments
Here is a list of verbal communication barriers to avoid while giving compliments:- mother tongue influence (MTI),
- verbal speech fillers,
- negative words,
- judgmental phrases,
- redundant statements, and
- generalizations
Effective compliments will enhance the interpersonal relationship and this simple mnemonic, SPOT, can help anyone who like to master technique to remember a list of compliments. Interesting compliments will enhance your interpersonal skills which inturn helps you to persuade and empathize with others.
See Also
Empathy Statements: LEAP Mnemonic: Listen, Express, Ask, PauseList of Judgmental Words: VAK Mnemonic: Visual, Auditory, KinestheticList of Redundant Words: End result, Free gift. (End and Result are redundant)List of Polite and Kind Words: PASTE Mnemonic: Please, i Agree, i'm Sorry, Thank you, Excuse me.Assertive, Aggressive and Passive Statements: I'm OK, You're OKCreative Attention Getters: SPECTACLE Mnemonic: Short stories, Proverbs, Experience, Current affairs, Theories, Amusing facts, Clips, Laughing jokes, EnquirerSales Transition Words: 4C Mnemonic: Compare, Contrast, Cause, ConsequenceConstructive Vs Destructive Feedback: Constructive can be both Positive and Negative