The Basics of Philosophy | Learn Philosophy Online

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If you want people to take you seriously, say goodbye to these 8 habits

From Confucius to Socrates, ancient thinkers linked credibility to how we speak. Here are eight habits that can quietly undercut how seriously people take you.

By Philosophy Basics Editorial Team · November 2, 2026

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If you want people to take you seriously, say goodbye to these 8 habits

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From the magazine

7 signs you’re quietly winning at life, even if no one notices

Most of us walk away from a conversation convinced the other person liked us less than we liked them; researchers call it the "liking gap," and in study after study they actually liked us more

In 1859, Abraham Lincoln told a crowd of Wisconsin farmers about an Eastern king who asked his wise men for one sentence that would always be true. They gave him: "And this, too, shall pass away."

Thought of the day from Stoic philosopher Epictetus: “Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions, which they form concerning thing.”

New to philosophy? Start here.