How Do Men Like to be Complimented?

Personally I find complimenting women’s looks as a married man a slippery slope. Having intentions misinterpreted can haunt you, especially if it’s my wife’s friend, or a friend’s wife. If a woman said something complimentary in context it wouldn’t seem awkward. For example, if I moved or lifted something heavy and a woman said, “Wow, you’re strong!”, or if I had a nice outfit on and she said, “Going somewhere special? You look all dressed up.” Not to be confused with the alternative backhanded compliments, in the same situations; “Wow, you’re stronger than you look. I’m surprised you didn’t hurt yourself.” Or, “That’s a nice outfit. May I ask where you got it? It’s always hard to find nice clothes for my dad.”

My older daughter tried complimenting me before. She said, “Dad, you’re not ugly...you know what I mean... you’re not exactly eye candy, more like eye...fruit.”

Better than eye vegetables.... which was what a couple of my female friends said when I tried watching one of my favorite insanely long movies with them. Apparently the men weren't attractive enough so it was a movie filled with eye vegetables.

Hey Everyone,

Since we have a thread going on about when it may or may not be appropriate to call a woman "hot" or "beautiful", I wanted to start a thread asking the gentlemen how THEY like to be complimented.

I have this theory that most people hear only bad things about themselves (whether through their own self-talk or from others), and very rarely ever hear anything good, especially as they get older.

I also wonder if it's tougher for the guys, because women generally hear positive feedback from their close friends, but how often do men hear anything positive about themselves (I'm guessing not often), and how can we change that?

For example, I have often been around male co-workers whom I've wanted to compliment for various qualities, but, it seems like there are so many complication, especially between opposite genders.

For example:

+ I don't want to sound like a creeper (you know, like the kind who drives a windowless van and has it parked outside.)

+ I don't want to sound like I'm hitting on him (most especially because he may have a girlfriend or even a wife, and may not be wearing a ring.) I don't want to disrespect another woman by complimenting her man in a way that would be seen as inappropriate (and I know in many cases, even if you try to give an "innocent" compliment, like about his character, it could be see as you trying to steal someone's man away.)

+ If he IS a single available guy, I don't want him to think I am somehow obsessing over him or throwing myself at him.

My usual approach is to try to compliment something about their values such as, "Thank you for beinghonest," or, "Thank you for taking the time to put that away instead of just throwing it anywhere." But I often wonder if it's best that I not say anything at all.

How about the rest of you?

* Have you ever found yourself wanting to compliment a guy (even if you're a guy and want to say something encouraging to another brother in Christ), but didn't know what to say, or how to word it?

* If you want to compliment something about a guy, how do you go about it without sending the wrong signals?

* Guys, what tips would you give the rest of us for trying to say something supportive to you?

And, as a bonus-- How does one go about complimenting a man over his looks? I am a child of the 80's, and back then, all the girls described an attractive male (good golly, that sounds so sterile, like a lab description or something) as "cute". And I'm guessing men aren't very fond of that.

* Guys, would it ever be appropriate for someone to compliment your looks? What descriptions do you prefer -- would you want to be called "handsome", "good-looking", "cute", etc.?

* If you work out a lot at the gym, what could someone who notices that say without sounding like a stalker?

* Or, is it best not to say anything at all, to avoid any misunderstandings?

We are eagerly awaiting your replies.

I'm the same with difficulty giving compliments. Someone once told me you have to be able to accept them first. I have sometimes tried without mentioning physical qualities. Like "that's a nice color", but I still feel awkward doing it. I've kind of stopped the last year or so at work to avoid any potential weirdness there.

In general Men need RESPECT more than anything (well, you know what I mean)...

And, as a bonus-- How does one go about complimenting a man over his looks? I am a child of the 80's, and back then, all the girls described an attractive male (good golly, that sounds so sterile, like a lab description or something) as "cute". And I'm guessing men aren't very fond of that.

* Guys, would it ever be appropriate for someone to compliment your looks? What descriptions do you prefer -- would you want to be called "handsome", "good-looking", "cute", etc.?

* If you work out a lot at the gym, what could someone who notices that say without sounding like a stalker?

* Or, is it best not to say anything at all, to avoid any misunderstandings?

We are eagerly awaiting your replies.

Man, you ain't kidding.

Last week I saw a guy in a store who had a man bun and I could tell from one glance that he better hair than I do.

Nothing incites jealousy in a woman more than a man with longer, thicker, and yes, prettier, hair.

My grandma had a unique way of giving a compliment. She used it on everyone for whatever thing it was she found pleasing. She would say You are a good egg ! Keep in mind I grew up on a farm. So yeah I guess we could tell a guy he is a good egg 😂😂😂😂😂

If he's not wearing a ring - well he's not wearing a ring... I think that is saying something about his availability... Granted there is now telling where he is in his varying stages of coming out of or getting in to a relationship... So, friendly conversations could be helpful to understand where his heart and mind are - before diving in with compliments... Suggest saving those for established friendships...

This is true, to a certain extent - my brother in laws are labourers and so they don’t wear their rings to work for safety reasons and not because they’re available lol we don’t want one of them coming home with no finger 😂

I took a quiz to see how well I knew my wife which asked what are the 5 most important things to your wife in your relationship together. I got all 5 things in order correct EXCEPT I reversed answers #1 and #2, believing that spending time together was #1, but to my surprise, found out that COMPLIMENTS are #1 on her list. Yes, it's really that important to women.

Colloquialism

So agree with this and appreciated but in a way they receive it well. Compliments don’t make me feel appreciated but reciprocating with actions does. Like I did this for you because I appreciate what you did for me. Not that we expect it but the thoughtfulness in giving back speaks volumes!

So how are you love. Lol