Compliment Project

Ryan Sharp Comm 150 2:00-3:00pm 1-19-2010 Compliment Project

I thought this project at first felt like it was going to be forced and unnatural for me, but as I did it I felt like my attitude changed about how much power a compliment can have on someone. One of the immediate effects of a genuine compliment that I noticed was a simple smile. It wasn’t an ecstatic smile, but rather it was a humble one that seemed to show a deep gratitude for the compliment given. I think it’s hard not to smile when someone gives you a sincere compliment. One of my roommates, Benoni, took the time to make a genuine African food dish for the whole apartment to enjoy. Considering the time and effort he put into it alone, the least I could do was say thank you. But I seriously loved the taste of the dish he had prepared and so I told him that I thought he was a very good cook. I not only told him that I loved his cooking but also that I appreciated his willingness to share his food with us. Immediately it seemed as if his confidence grew as he gently smiled. It seemed like he wanted to deny it at first and just shrug it off, but when he knew I was sincere he accepted it. The most important thing I noticed was simply that he felt good and I felt good. He took pride in the compliment I gave him, and it seemed like he had great satisfaction in what he had prepared. In some small way it also felt like we had strengthened our friendship. I also felt like we had contributed to help make our apartment more peaceful and unified than before. Another compliment I gave was to a stranger that just so happens to be a part of I-comm as I am. As a member of the design team, I did not know this person other than the fact that I knew he was considered the group leader in design. As he was showing some of his designs and ads that he had done for companies in the past, I was extremely impressed with his professional work. I told him sincerely that I thought he had the most professional and artistic ads of any other student I had seen. I told him that I thought he was really creative also. He was probably used to getting compliments all the time, but he gratefully said thanks and smiled at me. He was confident in his work already, but he seemed happier when I complimented him. His mood seemed to change from being content about his designs to being excited about presenting his work. One of the other compliments I gave was actually to my apartment manager. She has been my manager now for a few semesters. I noticed she was stressed with numerous complaints about the internet, broken appliances, etc. as I was talking with her about my rent. I simply told her that I thought she was a very hard working person and that she was really patient with us. I told her she was a very caring manager and I thanked her for her hard work. I was surprised to see that she immediately didn’t seem nearly as stressed. Her countenance changed from being stressed and fatigued to calm and grateful. She thanked me for that and for the next few minutes talking with her it seemed like her burden was eased if even for just a moment. I’ve learned from these experiences that positive words can actually have a powerful impact on our emotional well-being as well as our physical one.