Are Your Compliments Flattery or Genuine?
Doing away with the most annoying kind of compliments
Flattery is the worst! Don’t believe me? Just ask Cady Heron. Yeah, that’s right, the fictional character from Mean Girls who was convinced to hang out with queen of the Plastics, Regina George, and her posse. For a Plastic, flattery is an art form that one must master as a means to take advantage of others, especially the gullible and those who are thirsty for recognition from the popular crowd. Originally, I thought flattery was a good thing. Boy, was I wrong. First let’s look at the definition:
Alright, so there are a couple of words/phrases here that should help you understand just how worthless flattery is. The first is “excessive.” That word is almost never used to describe something desirable or favorable. I don’t want to get too meta here, but excessive is defined as “more than necessary,” or as we say in the black community “doing the most.” The next word is “insincere.” I think that’s pretty self-explanatory. The last part is “own interests.” So not only are your compliments uninspired, but they’re also attached to a personal agenda.
Let’s go back to Mean Girls to see flattery in action. In the clip below, notice how Regina George flawlessly executes flattery to get one of her peers to think favorably of her.
