Everyone wants to feel respected. Respect allows one to perform better in their career, build better relationships, and gain confidence. One of the most important ways to gain respect is to focus on others rather than yourself. This will allow you to be trusted and credible. There are many ways to gain respect and five of them are explained below.

Keep Your Promises

When you make a commitment to someone or something, make sure you can stick with it. If people feel like they can trust you, you will have a strong reputation and will be known as reliable. Remember that actions speak louder than words, so make sure to keep your promises to others. Stop Wasting People’s TimeIf you can respect the time that other people have, they will in turn respect you. For example, if you show up to your meetings and appointments on time, you have a better reputation than someone who everyone is constantly waiting on. Do your background research before a meeting so that you can be succinct and to the point. When you are prepared, you will sound confident and will not need explanations from others.

Stop Wasting People’s Time

If you can respect the time that other people have, they will in turn respect you. For example, if you show up to your meetings and appointments on time, you have a better reputation than someone who everyone is constantly waiting on. Do your background research before a meeting so that you can be succinct and to the point. When you are prepared, you will sound confident and will not need explanations from others.

Be a Good Listener

Listening is one of the most important skills to have, yet one of the most overlooked. When you are having a conversation with a friend and are respectfully listening to what they have to say, they will feel like they can trust you and will respect your advice. By being an effective listener, others feel important and validated which in turning gains their respect. One way to show your active listening skills is by asking more questions to encourage the speaker to talk more. This shows that you are interested in what they have to say and care to learn more.

Try to Be Useful

By helping others in times of need and looking for opportunities to assist those around you, people will notice that you put others first. When they need support later on, they will reach out to you as someone they can depend on and rely on. By taking this responsibility, you will feel more successful and helpful which will allow you to gain self-respect.

Taking Responsibility

When you make a mistake, admit to it and look at it as a way to learn and improve. First, take ownership for your own behavior and explain where you went wrong. Offer a sincere apology but focus on how you can make it better or correct what you have done. These actions allow you to gain self-respect and the respect from others. According to Good Choices Good Life, these steps will teach you how to make better choices in the future and build character and maturity. As these skills become more engrained in your daily life, you will ultimately gain the respect from others that you are searching for.

Conclusion

Gaining the respect of those around you allows you to be a strong and successful leader, gain confidence, and credibility. By keeping your promises and commitments, you will be trusted and dependable. When you use someone’s time wisely, they will be much more likely to reach out to you in the future as an intelligent and respectable person. Being useful when there are opportunities to help others and taking accountability for your mistakes are ways that you can build your reputation and self-respect. All of these different traits are examples of practices leaders have that allow them to be well-respected and trustworthy. Incorporating these skills into your daily routine can allow you to build your sense of character and be respected by those around you. This respect allows you to move further in life and achieve the success you desire.