What You’re Saying When You Say, ‘I Like Your Shoes’
A tiny piece of advice that changed my life.
I love your shoes. Tell me about them! What’s the story? Where’d you get them; why’d you get them — I want all the details.
OK, OK, you’re right: I am not really looking at your shoes at this exact moment. But years ago, I read a magazine interview with a celebrity (I remember this being Melissa McCarthy, but a light Google search turns up nothing) who advised always complimenting another person’s shoes. The crux of the advice (since I can’t find it and therefore can’t quote it) was that people spend a lot of time choosing their shoes. Because you wear them a lot and they tend to be a financial investment, people care about their footwear. We like to be recognized for the things we care about.
And honestly, this advice has been pretty good to me! Sometimes people don’t care that much about their shoes, but that ends up being a story, too. It’ll go something like:
Me: I love your shoes!
Them: Oh, these? Really?
Me: Yeah. They look comfortable.
Them: I guess they’re comfortable. I bought them at Target. They’re just basic Target shoes. [Here we see the person begin to shift. Thoughts start bubbling.] Actually, Target has a lot of…
