The art of paying a compliment

The art of paying a compliment is one of the most under-rated of skills. It needs to be covered in school or at least in B-schools. As Indians, we are barely able to pay a compliment to someone we are very familiar with. We struggle to interact with strangers, much less say something nice to them. When we do attempt to say something nice, it often comes out dorky, or worse, as flattery.

We try and dilute this effect by trying to compliment not the person but something they own or something they have. At least this cannot be misconstrued as personal flattery, we reason.

Here is a simple algorithm that works for me. If you wish to state a fact, the compliment works. When your objective is to pay someone a compliment, it often comes out contrived.

The best way to compliment someone, I have learned, is to come out and state the truth. If someone is well dressed on a certain day, tell them.

And please do not emphasize the word 'today' when you tell them they look good.