In this thread it almost appears that major compliments is a good way to gain a woman’s attention. Is this actually true or do they just blow it off? Hell, maybe I did it/do it all wrong, I just talk to women I never actually compliment them.
Where is that stick I threw out yesterday, I want to beat this dead horse with it.
If a stranger (particularly a guy) complimented me I’d be so stunned I would either freeze up, which might be taken as a blow-off, or I’d get pissed because I’d assume they were making fun of me.
If I knew the person was totally sincere, though, yeah, I’d dig it.
Sincere compliments are always welcome.
/Ms Cyros
While I’ve had a few compliments that pissed me off (usually given by a guy who is showing off for his buddies), for the most part I really appreciate them.
Sometimes I’ll be having a bad day, and a nice young man will hold a door for me and tell me I’m pretty, and suddenly it’s okay again. You never know what a kind word will mean to somebody.
Of course, you have to be sincere about it, and don’t leer.
Susan is right: sincerity, no leering.
I would like to add ‘not creepy’. Being told I’m pretty could be a compliment (another student at the library) or creepy and kinda scary (drunk guy, doesn’t-seem-to-be-quite-all-there guy, I’m alone and it’s late at night).
As mentioned in the photo thread, I don’t think of myself as particularly attractive (though I’ve been assured I’m not ugly, I think of myself primarily in terms of my brain, not my body, if that makes sense), so a sincere compliment is a genuine surprise, and usually makes me smile to myself.
If I weren’t so shy, I would compliment people more often, men and women. But it’s hard to overcome the ‘don’t-talk-to-strangers’ ‘rule’, and often hard to express the difference between flirting and a simple compliment.
From a stranger, a compliment about my clothes would be more welcome than a compliment about my physical self.
VCNJ~
If I don’t get a creepy vibe from it, getting an unsolcitied compliment is very nice. Since I’m usually with Mrs. Six, who is gorgeous, we usually get a group comment such as “Looking nice, ladies.”
Other women are much more likely to compliment me on my clothes than men.
As a lot of the other females have said, if they are nice and not creepy about it, then it’s a great way to chat up a girl!
It’s kind of a tough call, because it’s in the eye of the beholder whether the person is sincere or not.
My advice would be, that if you’re just trying to meet women and you’re just reaching for compliments to use, don’t do it. Don’t say, “Nice hair” to every woman you see for a day and see who falls for it.
But if you see a woman who isn’t already hunched over in a defensive posture, and she seems open to being talked to by a stranger, you might say, “Those are the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen,” if that happens to be the case.
Something like, “Your smile made my day” tends to go over well.
Something like, “What, am I supposed to look but not touch?” while leering down blouse or up skirt will not likely go over well.
Either way, all you’re going to get out of it is a very brief, verbal encounter with a stranger. I don’t see how it’s going to lead to anything.
Personally, I don’t like attention drawn to my looks or my clothes, but if it seems to be a well-meaning stranger, it sometimes pleases me, as long as they don’t then try to make a big deal about it. Now, if a coworker compliments me on my looks or clothes, I discourage that. I’m there to work, dammit. If you like what you see, keep it to yourself.
It’s happened a couple of times, from men and women. I’ve always found it very flattering.
I expect that it varies according to the people & situations involved.
If I were well-dressed & on my way to work, and complimented a lady in the elevator lobby, I imagine she’d receive it better than if I were drunk and passing her in a lonely alleyway at 2:30AM
I find it annoying to be complimented on something I didn’t do. So I try to keep them oriented to something a person might have had a hand in, such as a choice of hairstyle or jewlery. That seems to go over fairly well in terms of brightening someone’s day a little.
I often want to compliment women on their looks, or some aspect of it, e.g. their eyes, or things that I seem to uniquely notice such as beautiful hands or a fantastic nose. I’ve learned that all those tend to go over like lead balloons.
Since I can’t pick up women no matter how badly I’d like to, I just do it to be nice.
One compliment that always goes over well is “Wow! What a rock!”
There’s your first mistake–we love compliments. Can’t get enough of 'em–IF they are sincere.
For me, it depends on the compliment and the stranger. I have had drunks come up to me and tell me: “mm, mm, good!”–but I’m assuming you don’t mean that sort of thing…
Other compliments that could go unsaid include: “mighty fine” “help me. Jesus” and the one I have never figured out, “do you want a Boulder handshake?” (I was a freshman at CU, first day on campus–I still dont’ know what this means!).
I’m generally totally confused. You know, looking behind me, looking up, down and all around, trying to figure out who the hell this person is complimenting. Oh, you mean me? Um, thanks. blushes
Compliments are really nice if the guy doesn’t leer at me or start following me. Or keep complimenting me even after I’ve said thanks and am obviously trying to leave.
Each time one of these situations has happened to me, it left me feeling really vulnerable and creeped out.
If a guy or a woman just gives me a well-worded compliment (read: not necessarily flowerly or grammatically correct, but not about my ass or tits), I’m usually quite flattered. Other than loving compliments from my husband (who loves to give them), I think I’m more flattered when a woman compliments me because women don’t tend to offer compliments unless they’re responding to another woman’s negative self-image. “You do not have acne.” Getting a compliment from a woman for no reason is unusual and very nice.
Compliments tend to make me a bit uncomfortable, actually. The less specific, the worse it is for me. Especially when someone tells me I’m pretty or makes a comment about my body… I never know how to respond to it besides being polite and just saying thank you. I like to think I’ve taught myself to be courteous and how to graciously accept compliments, but to be honest whenever anyone does it, I try to thank them and quickly change the subject to something I feel more comfortable talking about. I think most of it stems from being called fat and ridiculed so much as a kid; I didn’t like it when people judged me because I was fat, and a lot of times when people compliment me I still feel manipulated or find myself questioning their motives/sincerity. I know they just mean to be nice in most cases, but I still feel compelled to skirt out of it/change the subject as soon as I can.
Fortunately I’m such a weirdo, usually people are more curious about whatever I’m doing/wearing, than paying attention to my body. I really only have experienced random compliments about my appearance when I am working in a situation where I deal with the public (and thus wearing some kind of uniform or standardized business dress) or just out doing something like shopping in a t-shirt and jeans.
I have a much easier time dealing with compliments about everything else. If I was holding a book and you said, “I’ve read that and loved it, you have really great taste,” I would enjoy it much more because then I could talk with you about the book, rather than standing there in uncomfortable silence wondering why you just told me I have pretty eyes. 
Yes, I enjoy compliments from anyone who wishes to give them, as long as they aren’t rude about it.
Would you walk up to insert your favorite work of visual art here and say “that piece of art is beautiful” and then not stare at it or follow it around, if it walked off?
IANAW, but the other day a woman I’d never met before commented on my hair, telling me it looked beautiful and healthy. I sure didn’t mind getting that compliment, so I don’t think a woman would either (so long as it is genuine).
I’ve found that observations like “That’s a very becoming hairstyle” or “That’s a lovely outfit” tend to be well-received. I don’t go any further with anyone other than my wife.
As has been mentioned countless times, sincerity is the key. I’m always happy to hear a compliment.