Page 54 - Perfect Phrases ESL Everyday Business

Giving and Accepting Compliments

I’m glad you [liked, enjoyed, learned from] the [report,
presentation, meeting].
I’m really working on my [English, presentation skills, writing
skills, pronunciation skills]. Thank you for noticing.
I appreciate your comments.
I’m glad you liked the brownies. I made them from scratch.

I am happy you enjoyed my baking. It is my mother’s recipe.

Saying “thank you” is more polite and formal than “thanks.” There-
fore, “thank you” is used in more formal situations such as job inter-
views, meetings, speaking with upper management, and superiors.

Culture Hints: When complimenting people in the United
States on a personal item, such as clothing, a car, or a home,
it is impolite to ask how much it cost. You may ask where they
bought the item or how they found it. On a professional level,
however, if your job involves budgeting or monitoring expenses;
you not only have the right, but the duty to know what company
expenditures are.
People from cultures in which modesty and humility are
important and being part of “the group” is a core value, and
individuality is not, will often have great difficulty accepting
compliments. In some countries people compliment very little,
once a week or less frequently. In the United States we compli-
ment often, sometimes many times a day.
The word complement is often confused with the word com-
pliment that we have been discussing. Complement means “to
complete the whole.” For example, when you do part of a presen-
tation, your colleague may do another part to complement yours
and make the presentation complete.

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