How to Compliment Someone (Without Sounding Like Youre
Brownnosing) 203
more apt to trust someone who says nice things about us when we arent
listening than someone who flatters us to our face.
No-Risk Praise (Do It Behind Their Back)
Instead of telling someone directly of your admiration, tell somone who
is close to the person you wish to compliment. For instance, suppose you
want to be in the good graces of Jane Smith. Dont directly compliment
Jane. Go to her close associate Diane Doe and say, You know, Jane is a very
dynamic woman. She said something so brilliant in the meeting the other
day. Someday shell be running this company. I place ten-to-one odds your
comment will get back to Jane via the grapevine in twenty-four hours.
Diane will tell her friend, You should hear what so n so said about you the
other day.
When you gave Grapevine Glory to Jane, Diane became the carrier
pigeon of that compliment. Which leads us to the next technique where you
become the carrier pigeon of other peoples compliments.
Technique #51
Grapevine Glory
A compliment one hears is never as exciting as the one he overhears. A
priceless way to praise is not by telephone, not by telegraph, but by tell-a-
friend. This way you escape possible suspicion that you are an apple-
polishing, bootlicking, egg-sucking, bac scratching sycophant trying to win
brownie points. You also leave recipients with the happy fantasy that you
are telling the whole world about their greatness.
HowtoBea Carrier Pigeon of Good Feelings
Carrier pigeons have a long and valiant history. The dauntless winged
messengers, often maimed by shellfire and dying after delivering their
messages, have saved the lives of thousands. One tenacious little bird
named Cher Ami is credited with saving two hundred lives during the
Battle of the Argonne in World War I. The brave one-legged little birdie,
one of his wings shot through, carried a message dangling from his
remaining ligament. The blood-smeared little ball of feathers arrived just in
time to warn that the Germans were about to bomb the city.
Stumpy Joe, another plucky pigeon, had such a heroic battlscarred
career that his fans stuffed him, mounted him, and put him on display in the
National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. And millions of other brave
ooja
(Ooja)
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