How do you identify flattery?

Think adulation, honeyed words and pats on the back, and you get the picture. Flattery is fawning and simpering, puffery and blarney, cajolery, wheedling, sweet talking, soft soaping, giving a spiel, buttering up, currying favour and brown nosing. It's all done using weasel words!

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on listeningpartnership.com

What is flattery behavior?

Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or romantic courtship.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

What is an example of flattery?

Flattery is excessive praise. If you're hoping to borrow your brother's car, be careful not to overdo it when you compliment his haircut, new shoes, and singing voice — he knows flattery when he sees it. As opposed to real praise, flattery is insincere and almost always has an ulterior motive.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on vocabulary.com

How can you differentiate between flattery and real praise?

The dictionary is blunt in defining flattery as excessive or insincere praise. It makes it clear that flattery is smoke blown in a person's eyes to keep them from seeing the real truth the speaker wants to hide.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gosanangelo.com

What is manipulative flattery?

Flattery. The first stage is when the person who manipulates puts on a facade of being kind, caring, and helpful. “They may act like they want to help you with anything you need, but in reality, they're just trying to get what they want from you,” Draughn explains.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on psychcentral.com

Genuine Compliment vs. Narcissistic Flattery

37 related questions found

What is the deception of flattery?

Flattery is false praise; it is deceitful. Manipulators use flattery and false praise to create a pseudo sense of confidence in order to take advantage of naive people. They use flattery to cheat and defraud. To deceive, dupe, and exploit.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on acalltoexcellence.com

What is a serious form of flattery?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on dictionary.com

What is the most common form of flattery?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bookbrowse.com

What is an example of excessive flattery?

Double shot of flattery – “You are so beautiful and smart. I can't believe how amazing you are.” This is excessive flattery signals the other person that something hurtful is on the horizon. Hot toddy flattery – “You look angelic when you are angry.” This is flattery mixed with an anger-inducing comment.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on growwithchristine.com

What is the most sincere form of flattery saying?

The famous quote from Oscar Wilde, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” has long been bandied about, mainly as an excuse for blatant copying.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on frkelly.com

What is the simplest form of flattery?

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery Meaning

Definition: If one imitates something another person does, it means one admires that person and wants to be like him or her.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on writingexplained.org

What is a person who uses flattery?

A sycophant is a person who tries to win favor from wealthy or influential people by flattering them.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on vocabulary.com

Is flattery a form of flirting?

Flattery is just saying something nice to someone. Flirting is more focusing on the opposite sex. Flattery is, 'You really look beautiful tonight. ' Flirting is saying, 'That is a gorgeous watch.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on latimes.com

Do narcissists use flattery?

Narcissists are self-obsessed and control others for their personal gain; they're notorious for using a few specific tactics for getting and maintaining this control. First, narcissists guarantee success by targeting codependents: They also try to make others feel special using compliments and flattery.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thriveworks.com

What is manipulative praise?

Manipulatively Insincere praise is given not because it is genuine, but for another motive or agenda. Here's a story about how realizing you have been Obnoxiously Aggressive can lead to a worse place, Manipulative Insincerity — a not uncommon path.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on radicalcandor.com

How should we react to flattery?

Here are a few ways to respond to a compliment:
  1. “Thank you, it makes my day to hear that.”
  2. “I really put a lot of thought into this, thank you for noticing.”
  3. “Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to express that.”
  4. “Thank you, I am happy to hear you feel that way!”

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on hbr.org

Who is more susceptible to flattery?

Interestingly, the greater your self-esteem, the more susceptible you are to flattery. This is because people who think highly of themselves tend to view flattery not so much as outright fawning but as perceptive observation.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on latimes.com

What is the psychological effect of flattery?

Flattery works well as a form of manipulation because it softens you up to the request waiting in the wings by appealing to your idealized self-image. And at the unconscious level it makes you want to return the emotional favor so that you can feel like you're square in that human transaction.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on evolutioncounseling.com

What is flattery in communication?

Flattery is the use of compliments or praises in order to achieve a certain aim or to gratify the feelings of another individual. Flattery is often characterized as excessive and usually insincere praise, especially when the individual who is using flattery has a certain goal or aim in their mind.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on businessnlpacademy.co.uk

Is flattery shallow?

Flattery is shallow, effortless, generic. If you want a simple method to identify flattery, ask yourself the following. Is this compliment applicable to anyone else in my team? If the answer is yes, it's most likely flattery.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on medium.com

Why do people like flattery?

The authors speculated that the susceptibility to flattery stemmed from a simple desire to feel good about themselves. Indeed, we hold ourselves in high esteem, a phenomenon known as the above-average effect.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on scientificamerican.com

What is better than flattery?

In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bible.com

What is an example of flattery will get you nowhere?

Jonah: I keep telling her how beautiful she is, but she still won't go on a date with me. Tatiana: Flattery will get you nowhere with her. If you want to date her you have to prove that you are an exciting person.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on writingexplained.org

Can flattery be sincere?

Sincere praise reliably conveys positive or negative feedback, while flattery always conveys positive but unreliable feedback. These two praise types have not been compared in terms of communication effectiveness and individual preferences using neuroimaging.

Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov