The leader gave him excessive back-patting even though the speech wasn't outstanding.

back-patting 是由 back（背部）和 patting（轻拍）组成的复合名词，patting 是动词 pat 的现在分词形式，pat 意思是"轻拍"。 back-patting 字面意思是"拍背"，引申为"表扬、鼓励"，因为轻拍背部常用来表示赞许或安慰。