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How To Handle A Back-Handed Compliment Without Back-Handing Someone Yourself

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SFA chapter.

It’s 2017, and compliments still are a hard thing to digest for pretty much anyone. Maybe they make you feel uncomfortable, or maybe you feel like it’s a forced statement, but nonetheless, it’s something that happens every day.

As unsettling as it seems, compliments have occurred more and more often, whether it’s for brown-nosing or even (the new trend) insulting.

 

Never received a back-handed compliment? Let me break it down for you:

 

Someone you know, maybe a girl not too fond of you, will pull you aside with a smile.  Then she’ll take a look at you and with that same smile, say, “That jacket is so stylish! Whose is it? It can’t be yours.”

And you’ll stand there stunned. Do you accept the first half? Do you argue the second half? Or do you just grit your teeth and bear it?

 

If you’ve never been back-handed with words, then you’re lucky. But if you have, here’s some tips on how to handle yourself (without hitting them).

 

1. Be Passive

Grin and bear it, but when they least expect it, tell them they should get a new stylish haircut, because it would better suit them.

 

2. Be Aggressive

This is for you bold girls, the ones who never let anyone get away with sly comments. Chin up and smile in their face, throw in a little comment, and walk away as if she was nothing but a blimp on your busy schedule.

 

3. Ignore it

Sometimes it’s best if you let the evil remain evil and keep yourself up on the pedestal you deserve.

 

Though the tips are vague, their reactions won’t be. 

 

From small towns in Texas with deep cajun roots, Catherine is an extreme football fan that craves spicy food. A proud fur-mom with way too much time on her hands is slowly but surely opening herself up to the world of writing amongst amazing women.
Andrea Gallier is a Journalism major and Dance minor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Her passions include: dancing, traveling, hiking, backpacking, camping, The Walking Dead, and (of course) writing. Andrea sailed with Semester at Sea in Spring 2016 and is an aspiring travel writer. She has also worked as a contributing writer at The Pine Log at SFA and is a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet, a dance company in Nacogdoches. Website: http://andreagallier.wixsite.com/portfolio Twitter/Instagram/Snapchat: @andreagallier