151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skills

43

Don’t Be Dismissive

Being dismissive is making someone feel as though she is not worthy of your time or attention. It’s belittling her by ignoring her. It’s saying, perhaps in words and perhaps by behavior, that her thoughts and ideas don’t matter.

Assignment

Recall times when someone has treated you dismissively. Remember how that made you feel?

If you have ever been treated this way, then you know that being dismissed as accounting for nothing is a terrible feeling. It’s demeaning and makes you feel as though you are worth less than others. You’re depressed, and then, often, angry at the person who treated you that way.

Is this any way to establish a relationship? Of course not. You don’t want to be treated this way, and neither do others. ...