TOPIC VI : COMPLIMENTING AND

REPLYING TO COMPLIMENTS
Basic competences :
Students are able to produce appropriate compliments
Students are able to produce appropriate responses to compliments

Compliment are very common in daily conversation. They are

important to promote good inter-personal relationship. Economically
speaking, compliments are cost-free but with priceless and immeasurable
returns. Basically, compliments are approval (positive comments) on
someone’s performances, appearance, good work, or even belongings. To
be effective compliments must be sincere.
 I. Sample Dialogue : Good report : Mr. Blare is satisfied
with the report prepared by his accounting assistant, Toha,
and compliments him.
Toha : Good morning, Mr. Blare?
Mr. Blare : Morning, Toha. How are you?
Toha : Fine, sir. Thank you.
Mr. Blare : Nice day, isn’t it?
Toha : Yes, sir. Sure, it is.
Mr. Blare : By the way, I really your presentation yesterday. It was well done.
Good work.
Toha : Thank you, sir. You helped me a lot in the preparation.
Mr. Blare : The final work was yours not mine. You included the necessary
details without being lengthy.
Toha : Glad that you like it.
Mr. Blare : The lay-out was very pleasant to see. Where did you learn it?
Toha : Just by trial and error, sir.
Mr. Blare : Are you kidding? Well, go on working hard. I like the way you work.
Toha : Thank you, sir. I will.
GLOSSARY
 Priceless (adj) : tak ternilai
 Immeasureable (adj) : tak terukur
 Performance (n) : kinerja
 Appearance (n) : penampilan
 Belongings (n) : harta milik
 Compliment (n) : pujian
 By the way : omong-omong
 Include (v) : memasukkan
 Detail (n) : rincian
 Lengthy (adj) : terlalu panjang
 Lay-out (n) : tata letak
 Kid (v) : bergurau
 II. Notes : Compliments can be any positive-meaning setences.

Simple setences like the following are good examples :

You have a nice hair cut. Your paper is really first rate.
your car looks clean and shiny. You sang well last night.
Certain grammartical constructions are typically used for compliments.
Observe the following :
What a big house you have. How big your house is.
What nice furniture you have bought. How well you keep your house.
Certain adjectives are also often used in compliments: wonderful, splendid, great,
well-done. Modest responses to compliments can be sentences expressin g thanks,
such as Thank you, Glad you like it, etc. Soimetimes, one can also “deny” the
compliments by producing mild denials such as Really?, Do you think so?, and
Not really in order to sound modest. However, one need not be embarrassed for
being complimented. One can also return a compliment reciprocally.
 COMPLIMENTING GOOD
PRODUCTS
Basic Competences :
Students understand compliments in business letters.
Students are able to write a letter to compliment good products.

Good relationship, either business or personal, is important in

conducting business. Such can be promoted by providing genuine
compliments for the service rendered or the goods delivered by the
other party. Compliments can be parts of any letter. Of course, do
not overuse compliments since they might sound insincere and with
vested interest. Observe the compliments in the following letter of
order.
I. Sample Letter : Ordering goods
SARI SAMPURNA MOTOR
Jl. Dagan 15, Kartayogya 55321
Phone : (0247) 55412, 73211, Fax : (0247) 55431
e-mail : sarsammo@indo.organ.com
February , 10, 2014
JUNSANG MAIN DEALER
Jl. Rajumas 27
Kartaja 100043

Attention : Mr. Eik Kim Sung, Marketing Manajer

Dear Sirs,
Order No. 14532/2006

Thank you very much for the speedy delivery of 25 units of Junsang Hero 125 motorbikes which I ordered on Jnuary 12, 2014.
They were on display and on sale in the right time because it was the shopping season in my city. The product is very popular,
and, as a result, the stock has been sold out.
I would like to order 50 more units of Junsang Hero 125 motorbikes, which I expect to be on sale in June and July this year.
So far we have been paying your good on invoice. However, as I Have been dealing with you for some time, I wonder if I can
settle the payment for the order one month after the delivery.
Thank you very much for your kind attention and I am expecting the approval for the above credit request.

Sincerely yours,

Hilda Sunarto
Purchasing Manajer
Enci. Order No. 14532/2006
GLOSSARY
Speedy (adj) : cepat
Delivery (n) : pengiriman
On display : dipamerkan
Order (v) : memesan
On sale : dapat dibeli
Result (n) : hasil
II. Comprehension :
1. What is the main purpose of the letter?
2. What transaction has taken place before
this letter is written?
3. What compliments are shown in the
letter?
4. What method of payment is proposed for
the above order?