How to act around someone who doesn’t like you? (15 Tips)

Sometimes, we encounter people that don’t like us; often, these people are family members, close friends, or someone whom we have a crush on.

It’s very unfortunate to have such an experience with whom we haven’t been able to connect on an emotional or rational level.

As an adult, if someone doesn’t like you, it can be difficult to figure out how exactly they feel about you and why.

If it’s an acquaintance or co-worker, maybe their disapproval is based on past negative experiences with you.

Or they may simply not want to engage with any strong emotions—in which case, they’re probably not taking their dislike of you personally and aren’t likely to change their opinion of you anytime soon. 

Recommended reading: How to tell if someone doesn’t like you?

In order for a friendship or relationship to be healthy and positive, both parties need to feel good about it.

This is not always easy when dealing with someone who simply doesn’t like you. There are many reasons why people may not enjoy your company – they may be shy, antisocial, distant – and yet still harbor a dislike for their lack of ability to connect with you.

This guide will provide practical tips on how to act around someone who doesn’t like you and stay calm and composed when working with others, even when they make you want to scream.

How to act around someone who doesn’t like you?

how to act around someone who doesn’t like you? The answer to this question depends on why someone does not like you. If it is because of your attitude or some similar personal attribute, then it takes some time to work on yourself to become persuasive and develop a likable personality.

Other than being more respectful of others and treating them better. However, if it is because of something that was said or done by you that they have taken issue with, then apologizing will go a long way toward making them see things differently.

Be genuine in your apology, as simply saying sorry for one’s behavior often falls flat when no effort has been made to correct it.

It would be wise for you to understand why they are upset with you before apologizing so that you have an idea of what specifically needs changing within yourself.

Sometimes, The best way to deal with these people is generally avoidance—to avoid coming into contact with them as much as possible until that opinion changes. If they work in your office, however, that can be tricky. Here are 10 Tips on how to act around someone who doesn’t like you.

Also read: 15 signs people don’t like you

15 Tips on how to act around someone who doesn’t like you.

1. Be nice.

It is important that you maintain a friendly and kind attitude toward them at all times. This should be an easy thing for you to do, as everyone wants to be friends with those they like.

If you are not interested in friendship, it will be obvious, so do not try to fake it. Instead, just keep your conversations brief and polite, then move on.

2. Don’t argue or disagree.

Arguing with them will just cause more tension between you both and likely cause things to become even worse than they already are if only because of how uncomfortable it makes everyone involved feel.

Instead of arguing or trying to prove yourself right or wrong in their eyes, just accept that their opinions differ from yours and leave it at that.

3. Let it go.

Letting go of petty arguments or disagreements might be difficult for some people, but if you truly want to improve your relationship with them, there is no other way to do it short of cutting off communication completely.

However, that is not really practical for either of you, so let go of anything that has happened between you two previously and focus on putting forth a fresh start. 

4. Just be yourself.

Being genuine is a great way to build relationships with others because people tend to like other people who are genuine.

If your friend or coworker says something negative about you (or vice versa), don’t take it personally; think of it as an opportunity for growth and make a conscious effort not to take what they say personally.

The more comfortable you become in different social situations and settings, meeting new people and interacting with them on a regular basis, and learning social etiquette.

And other basic skills (e.g., making small talk) will help ease your anxiety when dealing with other people — particularly those that might not like you — and better prepare you for uncomfortable social situations where there’s less time for planning out what to say or do.

Also read: Why don’t people like me? And how to get someone to like you?

5. Be considerate.

Understand that we all have faults and that what another person may see as a flaw is not always really a bad thing, and vice versa with what we see as good qualities of our own.

Instead of comparing yourself to others, appreciate them for their strengths and interests, and try learning from them without feeling threatened by them.

It will make for a much more enjoyable time all around instead of an uncomfortable one where people feel like they’re walking on eggshells all day long because they don’t want to offend each other.

6. Be a good listener.

You can’t get through life on your own and even if you think that no one would want to be your friend, it is almost guaranteed that people will want to talk to you about things they care about and share experiences with others.

Listening is a very important part of communication because it helps build an understanding of what someone else is going through so that we may be able to relate or find common ground. How boring would life be if everyone was exactly alike?

7. Be open-minded.

Being open-minded about other people means that we put aside our pre-existing beliefs and/or judgments of them and try learning from them instead of thinking that we already know everything about a person based on our limited interactions with them.

Especially if they seem to have differing opinions from us or appear to behave in a way that’s totally opposite from what we believe or hold sacred.

The more open-minded you are, the more fulfilling your relationships will be.

Because it gives both parties a chance to learn something new about each other without one party judging or shutting down communication altogether just because there is a disagreement over something petty or personal that isn’t worth arguing over anyway.

8. Be observant.

It’s not enough just to hear what people say; we also need to pay attention and observe our surroundings, especially in social situations where we’re with people that aren’t all that familiar to us (and therefore, don’t know us as well).

Our body language is often an unconscious way of communicating how we feel or what’s on our mind, so if you can pick up on those little things about others, it will help reduce misunderstandings and encourage deeper conversations between each party.

9. Be compassionate and forgiving.

Being compassionate and understanding of others is an important part of our daily lives because we’re all human; we all make mistakes, have regrets, deal with difficult situations in our lives, etc.

So it’s a good idea to put aside preconceived notions about others and treat them as individuals by giving them a chance even if they have caused us harm or appear selfish at first glance.

We can’t fix other people or change their behaviors for them so there’s no point trying unless we want to be miserable, frustrated, and feeling hopeless in our relationships with them forever because it won’t work anyway.

Trying harder just compounds negative feelings that often lead to lashing out at others in retaliation instead of being kinder towards each other from here on out instead.

10. Be genuine and sincere.

Being kind towards others without expecting anything in return can be a very liberating experience for us, and helps to reduce any negative feelings we may have.

Because it shows that we’re putting our emotions first instead of always reacting impulsively or going with our initial judgment about another person.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, so show those closest to you that your relationships are important by being as positive as possible, even when things get stressful or complicated along the way.

It will do wonders for those closest to us as well as those we meet down along life’s journey from here on out.

11. Be respectful and encouraging.

Showing respect towards others in an honest way is one of the most effective ways of getting them to be more receptive towards us in return.

So if we’re not being respectful in how we treat others, then there’s a good chance that they won’t give us their attention or consideration either.

Being encouraging instead of discouraging is another way of breaking down barriers between us and other people.

Because it helps reduce any stress they may have about whatever situations are happening in their lives by letting them know that they’re not alone when dealing with whatever issues they may have to deal with on a daily basis whether it’s financial problems, family issues, social stigma, etc.

12. Be courteous and patient.

Being courteous is another way of showing respect toward others in a polite and considerate.

It’s not enough just to say excuse me or thank you when we want to get other people’s attention, so there are other ways of being more polite while interacting with them in daily life.

It can be as simple as saying hello or good morning/afternoon/evening whenever we see them or if they happen to be sitting next to us on public transportation, at home, in church, at work, etc.

13. Be mindful of your words and actions.

Being mindful of how we speak with others is very important because our words often affect them in some way, whether it’s intended or not.

For example, using profanity or offensive language can offend other people while telling lies about someone can make it difficult for them to trust us in the future.

If they find out what we’ve done behind their back instead of treating each other with honesty and respect by being honest about everything that happens between us from here on out.

14. Be Empathetic and understand their personality.

Try not to judge others or take things personally by understanding that they’re experiencing what they’re experiencing on a daily basis.

It’s never easy getting through each day when we’re dealing with our own issues, so try not to take things personally when people are rude or impatient towards us because it often has nothing to do with us at all.

Maybe they had a bad day at work, are feeling ill, etc., so there’s no point trying to get them back for whatever reason either; if we were in their situation.

We’d probably be dealing with our own problems instead of putting more stress on ourselves by giving someone else more of our attention than they deserve.

15. Clear the conflict between you and develop a genuine relationship:

Sometimes it may be difficult clearing any conflicts or misunderstandings that may have happened in our relationships with others.

But if we want to maintain them in long-term healthy ways, then we need to make sure that they stay close instead of letting grudges or feelings of resentment interfere with how well we get along with others.

Because genuine people will always treat us kindly no matter what’s happening in their lives because they want us happy even when things get stressful for them. Sometimes people don’t appreciate what they have until it’s gone.

So it’s up to us whether we want a strong friendship or not; let that friendship grow by being patient, forgiving and understanding instead of making rash decisions based on initial impressions alone.

Final thoughts:

Instead of losing your temper and letting your anger get in your way, try to be as patient as possible with those who seem indifferent towards us.

For example, if we’re trying our best to make friends but nobody seems interested or willing to talk at all, then we needn’t lose heart; that’s their loss. At least we tried and didn’t give up on them too easily.

We may even find ourselves making a great friend by being a good person ourselves instead of worrying about others doing things wrong or treating us poorly.

Things always work out in their own time so why not just focus on maintaining a positive attitude while interacting with everyone in a friendly manner that helps to keep our stress levels down which helps prevent burnout from occurring when we interact with other people.

It takes practice dealing with negative people though because there will always be situations where they’re rude or mean because they don’t understand why everything isn’t going perfectly for them.

Since it is going perfect for most people right now which is something worth thinking about when it comes to living well day-to-day.

Recommended reading: Why does nobody like me romantically? And how to deal with it?