I've had this 'invitation' on facebook for a while now: 'Compliment a Stranger' day. To the untrained eye, this may seem...nice. I hate to be a pain, but I do have a few minor problems with it. Firstly, 'stranger danger'. How could such a well established statement be wrong? More importantly, it rhymes - stranger rhymes with danger, and danger with stranger, (and manger, but not hanger) - and this makes its truthfulness resonate universally.
However, its deception is more subtle. It presumes that we all innately are able to deliver compliments with ease. Of course, this may be true for some. For example, Mo - he has been knighted (I think by the Queen...Or was it by the band...Wait, was he actually knighted?) for his 72 minute long speech, where every sentence was a compliment. But for others, paying compliments may not be our strong suit.
Anyway, why should we keep compliments to a single day? We should compliment people everyday! Maybe just not to strangers - be strong and please, stay away from the candy. Regardless, I thought I'd provide three simple ground rules for making compliments, as a guide for the kind-hearted readers of this blogs (yes, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are kind-hearted. It's a safe assumption given that there is probably no-one actually reading this blog - I know I wouldn't be).
Rule 1: There's never a bad time to pay a compliment!
Example:
Hey man, cool haircut! Oh, it's like that cos you're balding? At least you won't have to pay for haircuts in the future!
Chi was the first to test drive this compliment. He soon discovered the man was a Russian bounty hunter: the feared 'Balding Boris'. And yes, he's been skiing down the slopes, dodging bullets, running for his life - you know, all that jazz. Man, Chi gets to travel so much...
Rule 2: If the situation is awkward, remedy it with a compliment!
[Your friend (party-er wannabe) finds out he wasn't invited to a party on the weekend hosted by a mutual friend (Hoster of Party/Parties). A confrontation ensues...so say something along the lines of...]
Example:
Hey, by the way, great party! (then whisper to other friend: No it wasn't really a great party, I'm just trying to pay a compliment...but good job on the assignment over the weekend!)
Double compliment = Double diffusion of awkwardness.
Rule 3: Honest compliments are always the best compliments.
Example:
You know what? You look really good with make up on. Much better than...well, you know. Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch better. [For some reason, immediately after making this comment, I impulsively sprinted away. The oddities of life.]
Anyway, I'm off, happy complimenting!
-Josh
P.S. Before I forget this story I was told: My friend had a European guy as his Engineering teacher back in high school. There was this one day where the whole class was racking their brains to figure out what the teacher was talking about. The teacher kept saying (with a strong accent) 'Do you know where Parameter Road is? I need to get to Parameter Road tonight.' Finally, they figured out that he meant 'Parramatta', just pronouncing it terribly.
