The Comfy Corner

So no matter how modest some people may seem or how much they self deprecate and hate on themselves, everyone enjoys a good compliment now and then. It warms the heart like a nice piece of pie on a rainy day. I am proud to say that I thoroughly enjoy and thrive on compliments. When you are majoring in musical theatre, it is quite difficult to achieve a sincere compliment. All I hear every day is criticism and how I need to do things differently to get "better." That makes sense of course; that's why I'm paying so much money, but every now and then I just want to look at them and scream "LOVE ME!" It is so easy for criticism to beat down my ego and my self esteem, but it is also just as easy to boost it back up with a simple "Great job!"

The trouble with compliments, however, is how to deal with them once they are given to you. This is the hard part. The best example I can give in theatre it is the dreaded stage door routine. You walk past all of these people giving you compliments and you just smile and thank them and the conversation is over. They never have anything else to say, you never have anything else to say, so it gets awkward. You're both just standing there smiling and nodding. Or worse, no one even knows you were in the show, so you walk past crowds of people who are glancing at you wondering why you're there all alone wearing make up (While you're awkwardly looking around to see if you know anyone).

As a waiter, compliments are just as difficult to deal with. For instance, tonight I had a table who genuinely enjoyed my presence during their dinner so at the end of the meal one lady said to me, "So we came out here to have a leisurely dinner and you really accommodated that for us. Thank you." I should have just said, "You're welcome!" but instead I got all awkward about it and said, "Oh, well that's ... what my goal always is! I'm so... glad you had a good time!" ... I'm glad you had a good time?!?! It was dinner, not a trip to Disneyland. Moral of the story: when it comes to compliments, keep it simple, keep it short and you'll avoid awkward moments.