Person who is condescending

April 2, What is Condescending or Demeaning Behavior and Why You Should Care Many complaints about bullying involve what complainants label as condescending or demeaning behavior. What Should You Do? Train managers and employees on effective workplace communication. Coach managers who do not communicate effectively. You think so? In the emotional sciences, condescension usually connotes contempt.

Do condescending people truly mean to treat others that way? Usually not, if the relationship is generally good otherwise. Many people who condescend are insecure. Others who condescend may, in fact, think too much of themselves, and use condescension to make themselves the focus of attention.

But their condescension is likely to be a protective or deflective mechanism to draw attention away from their own feelings of insecurity. They patronize others as a way to avoid any expression or hint of weakness in themselves.

Condescension can put a well-honed shiv in an otherwise productive relationship, making people feel unappreciated and dissed. The volume or pitch of our voice drastically changes how we are perceived.

Not to mention they offer no insight. This is a hard habit to break , particularly for men. While interrupting someone might be appropriate in some contexts— say, asking for clarification on a point — butting in with comments is often unwelcome.

How can I help? I have no time for your thoughts. The way to avoid being condescending is by paying attention. Men might get this sort of response on occasion, but it happens a lot to women. A Fortune study found that women were 17 times more likely than men to be described as abrasive. You did something smart, and I never expected that from you! Many bosses swear by this feedback method, which involves starting out with a compliment, giving a critique, and then ending with another compliment.

But at this point the formula is pretty easy to spot, and often the praise on either side of the critique—the real point of feedback, typically—can feel forced. Many people see a compliment sandwich and think, Just give it to me straight.

Overly familiar, one-size-fits-all nicknames—especially for people you interact with in a professional capacity—are generally not a good look. This is particularly true for people in positions of authority. So the chummy nicknames most people find condescending end up being pretty exclusionary, too. But head-patting is never okay.