The Meaning of Respect

The Respect Series

1. The Meaning of Respect
2. The Power of Respect
3. Respectful Connections: The Key to Lasting Relationships
4. Respectful Gestures: Cues and Signs of Respect
5. Respectful Living: Everyday Etiquette
6. Top 12 Signs of Disrespect
7. Take a Stand: How to deal with Disrespectful People
8. Take Back Your Power: How to Cut Ties and Go No Contact
9. How to Get More Respect
10. Respectful Parenting: How to Nurture Respect in Your Children
11. 6 Signs That They Don’t Respect You
12. Mutual Respect: 3 Ways to Building an Emotional Bridge
13. Ways You Can Show Respect
14. Respect Yourself and Others to Feel Good
15. How to Get Respect at Work

What does respect mean to you?

When you think of the word respect, what comes to mind first? Probably the classic Aretha Franklin song, right? In that song, Aretha sings about how she just wants some respect. “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me,” we all know the lyrics, don’t we?

So what does respect mean to you? It’s not really a word that gets thrown around much these days, is it? And yet the idea of commanding respect from others, and offering your respect to other people, never really goes out of style.

Let’s define respect in a general way. A quick lookup of the word reveals the following definition from the Oxford Dictionaries: “Respect: Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.”

Showing others Respect

When we show respect for another person, we do things like look them in the eye to acknowledge their presence and show that we’re paying attention to their words. We listen to what they’re saying and communicate through both language and nonverbals that we’re thinking about and considering what they have said.

Defining Respect

Respect is about honor and acknowledgment. We show respect to people in everyday life by communicating with and about them in positive ways. We validate them by speaking words about the good things they did, and talking about it to others while mentioning their name.

We show respect for other people by cooperating with them and compromising on things that we may be trying to accomplish together. Respect is about extending awareness, acknowledgment, validation, and appreciation for someone else.

The word respect is often used when discussing our relationship with, and attitude toward, people in authority. We’re expected to show respect for those in a leadership position or who hold some sort of social power or higher level of expertise. You will often hear the word respect when discussing how kids and teens should approach relationships with parents, teachers, coaches, and other authority figures in their life.

However, even though we’re expected to show respect or reverence for those in charge of a group, it is also important to extend respect to our peers and members of our social circle. Even parents and teachers are taught by human psychology experts to speak to their children and the students that they teach in a respectful manner. This has to do with simply honoring the humanity in an individual. We should show respect for other humans because they’re like us, and we’re like them. It has to do with healthy relationships. What this really is about is the golden rule. Respect has to do with treating others the way you would like to be treated.

Next: The Power of Respect | Last: How to Get Respect at Work