Nearly 70 percent of men say they wish they received more regular compliments from their partner. I’m not suggesting that every guy has to get mushy compliments every day but every once in a while it’s nice to throw one his way. Guys aren’t particularly pumped by compliments like “nice eyes” or “you’re so beautiful”. There are a few, simple things a woman can say to a man that can really get him going.
“Your arms are definitely looking bigger”
Men can be just as paranoid about the way their bodies look as women can be. In fact, nearly 90 percent of men in a national Men, Love & Sex survey say there’s at least one body part they’d like to change (42 percent saying they want a new gut). While men don’t necessarily want women to lie if they’re out of shape, it never hurts to notice he’s looking good or at least trying to look better.
Laugh at his jokes
Guys spend all of high school, the better part of the work day, and at least 12 times a day via e-mail trying to make people laugh. Because men value their sense of humor as one of their most important qualities, a hearty, genuine laugh is as flattering as it gets.
“Wow”
It doesn’t matter whether it comes as he’s getting undressed or after you’ve finished having sex. This short, sweet word (best done in a whisper) may just be the ultimate ego-stroke. A picture may say a thousand words, but this three-letter word sums up roughly 10,000 of them.
“You are the man”
Guys hear this all the time from other guys. But if it comes from a woman, no matter the context, the message is that, hey, we’re buddies, too. This is actually pretty darn sexy.
“The kids just adore you”
More than 50 percent of men say that their families are what defines them most as men. So when a woman affirms that he’s a familial hero, it’s a compliment that stretches way beyond anything you could ever say about his haircut.
“What do you think?”
We’ve all seen it a million times with long-married couples: they engage in cerebral power struggles, where neither can concede on anything — whether it’s the best way to move a piece of furniture or the fastest way to reach the interstate. I’m not saying that men should have the only say in decisions, but some guys do feel like they actually have very little.
“Cute feet”
Typically, it doesn’t matter much to men if women like a part of their body that they don’t control, like their eyes or body hair. And typically guys don’t care for the word “cute” yet there’s one exception and that’s the part of the body that is classified as being especially gross. Tell a guy he has good feet, and somehow he takes it as a double-wammy of a compliment. You are saying that you not only like his genetics, but also that you appreciate he can keep himself better groomed than the rest of the guys.
“Meow”
The stats show that 61 percent of men think their partners aren’t sexually adventurous enough. While a feline one-liner doesn’t automatically qualify as adventurous, it does show a bit of inhibition, and the message is one he likes to hear: That perhaps he’s brought a little bit of the animal out of you.
“Impressive”
Guys love accomplishments. They love being acknowledged for their strength, power, and, simply, their masculinity. So a well-timed observation like this one — whether it comes after he carries a TV to the family room or figures out a way to fix the pipes without having to call the plumber — feeds into his need to feel like the family protector.
“I want you”
Again, women don’t need to go on about a guy’s eyes or hair or clothes. What a guy really wants to hear is that he’s the total package, and this acknowledgement of that — whether it’s referring to bedroom behavior or relationship stability — is the ultimate compliment of them all.
