How to Stop Your Friends from Making Fun of You
Learn to laugh at yourself., Act confident., Own it., Blow it off.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn to laugh at yourself.
It can be really hard to do this when you're feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, but it is a very important step.
Kids can be very cruel at times, and are often much more thoughtless in their dealings with each other than adults generally are.
If you become visibly upset, it brings out the mean streak in some people – and they will tease you even worse.
It's especially important to learn to laugh it off if you've made an obvious, public mistake, like spilling a drink, tripping over something, or dropping something you are carrying.
Notice how popular kids handle this situation.
Typically, they'll make a joke out of it right away (“What is wrong with me today? I'm tripping all over everything!”) They'll probably still get teased by their friends for being a ditz – this happens in the “cool” cliques, too.
Then, after a minute, they'll roll their eyes and tell their friends to knock it off...and they'll all start talking about something else.
Let yourself off the hook.
Everyone does something embarrassing once in awhile.
Try to put it out of your head, and genuinely move on – this will cue the people around you that it's not a thing, any longer.
This will feel unnatural at first, so you just have to force yourself to do it.
It gets easier with a little practice! -
Step 2: Act confident.
You don't necessarily need to feel confident all the time, but do your best to look that way; if you appear more confident, you are less likely to be made fun of.
People find confidence intimidating.
If they can't predict what you're going to say, they aren't going to risk teasing you – they know they'll look like an idiot if you have a clever comeback.
Try to slow down your speech.
When you're nervous, you tend to speak faster...slow it down, and you will come across as more confident.Watch your body language.
It may sound clichéd, but try to stand straight with your shoulders back and your chin up.
Not only will this make you look more confident, you'll actually feel more confident as well.Strike up a conversation with your elderly next-door neighbor, or one of your mom's friends, or your friend's little brother.
Talk to people who you know won't tease you, and when your friends aren't around to make you nervous.
The more practice you have, the easier it will be to talk to people in more stressful situations.
Keep in mind that people probably aren't paying as much attention to you as you think.
All the kids around you – including the most popular – are completely self-obsessed.
They're too busy worrying that they will say something dumb around someone they like, or that their friends will notice they're having a bad hair day, to be paying a lot of attention to you.
So don't automatically worry that everyone is looking at you when you enter a room.
In most cases, they aren't. , Sometimes you can turn teasing into an advantage, if it's something that really doesn't bother you very much, or if you suspect you're being teased because someone is jealous of you.
A great example of this is when guys tease their guy friends for dressing up, especially if they think he's trying to impress a girl.
Instead of getting upset, he can simply own it by saying something like, “Yep, it's a new hat, all right...and I look good in it, too!” , There is a trick to this approach, but if you can master it, it is extremely effective in a lot of different types of uncomfortable social situations.
When you're being teased, Instead, play it cool and look mildly annoyed but not angry.
Inside, try thinking something like, “Okay, kids.
Fun's enough, grow up already.” Don't ignore their banter completely, or it will look like you are upset and taking things too seriously.
Don't agree with them and put yourself down, or it will encourage them to be more mean. -
Step 3: Own it.
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Step 4: Blow it off.
Detailed Guide
It can be really hard to do this when you're feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, but it is a very important step.
Kids can be very cruel at times, and are often much more thoughtless in their dealings with each other than adults generally are.
If you become visibly upset, it brings out the mean streak in some people – and they will tease you even worse.
It's especially important to learn to laugh it off if you've made an obvious, public mistake, like spilling a drink, tripping over something, or dropping something you are carrying.
Notice how popular kids handle this situation.
Typically, they'll make a joke out of it right away (“What is wrong with me today? I'm tripping all over everything!”) They'll probably still get teased by their friends for being a ditz – this happens in the “cool” cliques, too.
Then, after a minute, they'll roll their eyes and tell their friends to knock it off...and they'll all start talking about something else.
Let yourself off the hook.
Everyone does something embarrassing once in awhile.
Try to put it out of your head, and genuinely move on – this will cue the people around you that it's not a thing, any longer.
This will feel unnatural at first, so you just have to force yourself to do it.
It gets easier with a little practice!
You don't necessarily need to feel confident all the time, but do your best to look that way; if you appear more confident, you are less likely to be made fun of.
People find confidence intimidating.
If they can't predict what you're going to say, they aren't going to risk teasing you – they know they'll look like an idiot if you have a clever comeback.
Try to slow down your speech.
When you're nervous, you tend to speak faster...slow it down, and you will come across as more confident.Watch your body language.
It may sound clichéd, but try to stand straight with your shoulders back and your chin up.
Not only will this make you look more confident, you'll actually feel more confident as well.Strike up a conversation with your elderly next-door neighbor, or one of your mom's friends, or your friend's little brother.
Talk to people who you know won't tease you, and when your friends aren't around to make you nervous.
The more practice you have, the easier it will be to talk to people in more stressful situations.
Keep in mind that people probably aren't paying as much attention to you as you think.
All the kids around you – including the most popular – are completely self-obsessed.
They're too busy worrying that they will say something dumb around someone they like, or that their friends will notice they're having a bad hair day, to be paying a lot of attention to you.
So don't automatically worry that everyone is looking at you when you enter a room.
In most cases, they aren't. , Sometimes you can turn teasing into an advantage, if it's something that really doesn't bother you very much, or if you suspect you're being teased because someone is jealous of you.
A great example of this is when guys tease their guy friends for dressing up, especially if they think he's trying to impress a girl.
Instead of getting upset, he can simply own it by saying something like, “Yep, it's a new hat, all right...and I look good in it, too!” , There is a trick to this approach, but if you can master it, it is extremely effective in a lot of different types of uncomfortable social situations.
When you're being teased, Instead, play it cool and look mildly annoyed but not angry.
Inside, try thinking something like, “Okay, kids.
Fun's enough, grow up already.” Don't ignore their banter completely, or it will look like you are upset and taking things too seriously.
Don't agree with them and put yourself down, or it will encourage them to be more mean.
About the Author
Frank Sanchez
Experienced content creator specializing in DIY projects guides and tutorials.
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