How To Respond To A Compliment (With Examples)

Responding to compliments can be surprisingly awkward. With a little training and practice, though, you can become a gracious and poised receiver of compliments.

In this article, we’ll give you instructions on how to respond to a compliment at work and at home, as well as example responses to refer to. We’ll also explain why responding well to compliments at work is important, how to give a compliment well, and how to practice these skills.

Key Takeaways

• Respond to a compliment by saying thank you.

• Don’t deflect, brag on, or diminish a compliment someone gives you.

• After you say thank you for the compliment, you can follow up with more information, a question, or a compliment in return.

How to respond to a compliment

To respond to a compliment, say thank you. If you want and if it’s appropriate, you can follow that with more details about the item or action they complimented, ask a question of them, or compliment them in return.

Before we narrow it down to how to respond to professional compliments, let’s look at those more personal compliments. Let’s say you’re wearing a nice top and someone compliments you on it. How do you respond?

Which one of these is most like you, and which one do you lean into when responding to others? They’re all common ways to respond to a compliment, but only one of them is a good response. You guessed it — C.

Here are some tips on how to reply to a compliment in any setting:

• It’s never good to downgrade someone’s compliment and insinuate that they’re wrong to give it.

• It’s never necessary to follow up with a compliment in return unless you truly mean it and it feels genuine.

• Simply saying thank you is always a great option.

While a simple thank you is sufficient, the more comfortable you become with compliments, the easier it will be to say more than that to continue the conversation.

If it’s a work-related compliment, for example, there’s a good chance you did something that helps the person giving the compliment, or that they did something to help you out. In this case, you could say something like, “Thank you, I hoped it would be helpful,” or, “Thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you!”

In a personal situation, if someone compliments your awesome shoes, they probably want shoes like them, so it’s nice to share where you got them or the brand name.

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Example responses to personal compliments

This is a good place to start accepting and responding to compliments. You probably get a few of these regularly. If not, start giving them, and you’ll see you’ll start getting more. First, just work on saying thank you. Then, when that starts to feel okay, and you give yourself permission to be complimented, you can try these responses:

1. Nice Reply to a Compliment About Your Clothing Example

   Compliment: I like your top.
   Response: Thanks, it was a gift. I really like it too.

   Compliment: I like your top.
   Response: Oh, thank you. I just got it at Macy’s. I love this color for fall.

   Compliment: I like your top.
   Response: Well, thank you. That’s funny because I was just going to tell you I like yours also.

   See how easy that is. Now let’s take the personal compliment a little deeper and look at some good responses.

2. Nice Reply to a Compliment About Your Kids Example

   Compliment: Your children are so well-behaved.
   Response: Thank you. We work hard to teach them manners.

   Compliment: Your children are so well-behaved.
   Response: Thank you, they do their best.

   Compliment: Your children are so well-behaved.
   Response: Thank you. I’m glad they were enjoyable for you. I really appreciate your watching them for me.

   There’s no reason to say any more in this situation. A thank you and a genuine smile are good enough.

3. Nice Reply to a Compliment About Your Smile Example

   Compliment: You have a beautiful smile.
   Response: Thank you. That’s really sweet.

   Compliment: You have a beautiful smile.
   Response: Thank you, so do you!

   Compliment: You have a beautiful smile.
   Response: Thank you.

   This compliment can be awkward to receive. After all, you probably don’t work on your smile or have much else to say about it. It can also lead to uncomfortable conversations, so just saying thank you is a perfectly acceptable answer. A compliment in return is a good option as well, but don’t force it.

Example responses to professional compliments at work

Knowing how to respond to compliments at work can be difficult, so saying thank you immediately gives you a second to think about what they said and come up with a good follow-up — or keeps you from having to follow up at all. Remember, just saying thank you is good enough.

The trick to responding to compliments professionally is not to deflect, brag, or diminish the compliment. Here are some examples of how to do this:

1. Respnding to a Compliment at Work Presentation Example Answer

   Compliment: You knocked it out of the park on that presentation.
   Response: Oh, thank you. It means a lot to hear that. I sure put a lot of work into it.

   Compliment: You knocked it out of the park on that presentation.
   Response: Thank you. My team was a big help. I couldn’t have done it without them.

   Compliment: You knocked it out of the park on that presentation.
   Response: Thank you. I have to give the same presentation next week. Was there any area that you thought could have used a little work?

   See how this can be handled in different ways. You can let them know how their appreciation has meaning to you. You can express thanks and give credit to others involved. Depending on the person, you can ask for more information.

Let’s try another work compliment scenario, this time, it will demonstrate how to reply to a compliment from your boss:

2. Responding to a Compliment at Work Professional Growth Example Answer

   Compliment: You’ve come a long way since you started here.
   Response: Thank you. Your help has had a lot to do with my achievements.

   Compliment: You’ve come a long way since you started here.
   Response: Oh, thank you. I’m really enjoying the work, and I’m learning so much along the way.

   Compliment: You’ve come a long way since you started here.
   Response: Thanks. I’ve worked really hard to understand this business and to make my mark here.

   All three are equally gracious and express genuine thanks. Once you’ve said thank you, credit can be dolled out as appropriate.

3. Responding to a Compliment at Work Leadership Example Answer

   Compliment: You did a great job managing that project.
   Response: Thank you. My team was awesome.

   Compliment: You did a great job managing that project.
   Response: Thank you. I really appreciate all your help.

   Compliment: You did a great job managing that project.
   Response: Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.

Why responding well to work compliments is important

Responding well to work compliments is important because it helps you come across as courteous and gracious, it rewards the person giving the compliment, and it helps you take the compliment to heart.

• It makes you look good. Getting a compliment at work reinforces your good points. Compliments are supposed to make you feel good, competent, and maybe even a little proud of the job you do. When you respond to a compliment graciously, it reinforces your good points to everyone who can hear you.

• The person who is giving the compliment is rewarded. Your heartfelt response to their compliment will not only make their day a little better, it also increases the likelinhood of their complimenting you and others in the future.

• If you truly accept a compliment, you’re more likely to focus on the good work you do in that area and maybe even do it better. Some people may even take a compliment and look at the things that weren’t mentioned and try to step up their game there.

All in all, being able to receive a compliment for your professional performance makes you look good and feel good, and it reinforces good thoughts about you. It can also help you improve your job performance.

How to give compliments

To give a compliment, be genuine, specific, and personal, focusing more on the person’s effort than on the results of their work.

Another part that often comes with receiving a compliment is giving one in return. It’s also good to practice giving them because it makes you more receptive when you receive them.

Start trying it and see how people respond: You’ll find some great responses, and then you’ll start to notice how the bad ones make you feel.

1. Be genuine. If you can’t say something nice, don’t fake it. Most people can tell if you aren’t being genuine, so don’t even bother trying to give a compliment you don’t mean.

2. Be specific. Try to narrow your compliment down to one thing. If you make it too vague, you’re not giving the receiver any real information.

   You’re also setting them up for a situation where they honestly don’t know how to respond. When you’re specific, then they can process it and respond accordingly.

3. Mention the impact their actions made on you. Most compliments are about the person giving it, not the person receiving it — at least to some degree. Be honest about that and let them know it.

   Personal Impact Compliment Examples

   • I love your shoes — I’ve been looking for a pair like that.

   • The work you did on that presentation made it so easy for me to understand.

   • Great job on the new spreadsheet. You made my job so much easier.

   Those compliments make it easy for the recipient to answer because they understand what you’re saying.

4. Focus on their efforts. Whenever you can, compliment someone on the effort they put into something — whether the result was good or not. This shows them that you saw more than just results and lets them know you admire their work whether it’s successful or not.

Practice responding to compliments

You don’t have to tell people you’re practicing your compliments and your compliment responses, but it might be fun to include a few close friends or coworkers.

This way, they can surprise you with compliments and force you to react. You can do the same since you’re working on giving them also. When you’re comfortable around people you know, then it’s time to branch out.

Start giving compliments to random people. You can compliment a stranger on their clothing. You can thank the waitstaff for being efficient. You can tell a checker that they’re doing a good job, and you appreciate it.

Responding to compliments FAQ

1. What do you reply when someone appreciates your work?

   When someone appreciates your work, reply by saying thank you and then complimenting them in return, explaining a little more about the project, or giving credit to other members of your team. For example, you could say:

   • Thank you, I had a lot of help from my team.

   • Thank you. It was a fun project to work on.

   • Thank you. You did a great job on your presentation as well.

2. How do you respond to a compliment at work via email?

   To respond to a compliment at work via email, respond how you would in person. Say thank you, and if it’s appropriate, return the compliment, mention others who had a hand in your success, or share a little more about the project.

   However you decide to respond, it doesn’t need to be long — two sentences is usually the maximum.

Final thoughts

There are a lot of opportunities out there. All you have to do is open yourself to seeing them and turning them into compliment situations. Notice how those compliments make others feel and pay attention to how a genuine reaction makes you feel. With deeper understanding, you’ll become a compliment champ, too.

References

1. Tools for Clear Speech – Giving and Accepting Compliments

2. Case Western Reserve University – 5 Reasons Why You Should Give Compliments

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.