Give and receive compliments without self-deprecation
Watch the full Unfiltered interview with three-time Speaker of the Year award winner Jaz Ampaw-Farr on how to stop being a people-pleaser, how to reframe self-care as an unselfish act and how to outwit your bad boss to neutralise your toxic office.
When did you last receive a completely unexpected compliment? Can you remember how it made you feel? Were you walking on air for the rest of the day, or maybe even the week?
And when was the last time you gave someone a compliment that hit them like a bolt from the blue? Can you remember how good it felt to know that you’d made their day?
As award-winning motivational speaker and leadership coach Jaz Ampaw-Farr explains in our exclusive Unfiltered interview, the power of giving and receiving compliments cannot be overstated.
Compliments are simple yet peerless ways to foster deep, strong and meaningful connections. Giving them acknowledges someone’s value and efforts, and may prove invaluable in helping them shrug off any inner doubts, worries or turmoil they’d been shouldering.
Receiving compliments graciously is equally important because it reinforces your own self-worth and allows you to internalise positive feedback, which can be a powerful counterbalance to the self-criticism many of us experience.
The problem is that many of us are terrible at both giving and receiving compliments, often opting to stay silent when it costs no time, money or effort to give them a day-changing boost, or turning to public acts of self-deprecation whenever anyone tries to compliment us.
Fix that, starting today, by taking on-board Jaz’s tried-and-tested tactics for getting better at everything to do with compliments. Allow her to empower you so that next time you notice something you like about someone, you don’t hesitate to tell them. And then when someone praises you, instantly accept it with a smile. The ripple effect of these small acts of kindness may just change your life.
