A compliment can be accepted without becoming the subject of the next hour.

Receiving praise well takes less time than most people give it. Some people meet a compliment with a long negotiation about whether it is deserved, which turns a two second kindness into an extended conversation about themselves and quietly obliges the other person to keep reassuring them. The generous response is short. Thank you closes the loop and leaves everyone free to talk about something else.

Practice taking the next compliment in four words or fewer. Notice the impulse to explain, and let the moment pass without following it.