What are people saying about you?

What do you know about your reputation?

For most of us, the answer here is… not much. Our reputation is something that exists outside of our personal experience; it is exists in the minds of others, and for the most part, it’s not something we can control. We all know that the way we act means that other people will perceive us in certain ways, but that doesn’t mean we understand what their perceptions actually are.

That’s a problem.

It’s a problem because a bad reputation is a difficult issue to have to deal with. If your reputation precedes you, then you’re always going to be on the back foot in any new interaction. You’re always going to be battling against that reputation, swimming upstream in an attempt to try and prove your reputation wrong– and some people won’t even give the chance to make a real impression, relying on hearsay for their view of you. If you have ever found yourself battling against a bad reputation, you will know how difficult it can be– and you’re in need of some advice on how to put your name back in the good books.

Is that possible, though? Can you cure a bad reputation?

Reputations Tend To Stick

If you have garnered a bad reputation, then the bad news is that it’s probably going to stick. The good news is that it will likely only linger for a short while. Eventually, enough people will forget about the things they heard, and everyone will move on with their lives.

How long you have to wait for this to happen very much depends on the scenario. If you have a reputation for being unpleasant and unyielding in your business decisions, then this reputation might be difficult to shake. Your reputation will only improve when you prove to enough people that you aren’t unpleasant or difficult to work with; this could take time.

For more serious reputations, such as a history of criminal behavior, you might be waiting even longer for your reputation to clear. The best thing that you can do is to address the situation. If there is still a legal case pending, then you should take the time to find the right representation; you can learn more from Wallin & Klarich today if this is an area you need help with. During the legal proceedings, your reputation may suffer, so you will need to be prepared for this. When the legal case is closed, however, the clock begins on how long until people forget. It might be days; it might be weeks; it might be years– but all you can do is be patient.

Can You Encourage People To Forget?

Yes, but not in a direct way. You can’t call people and ask them to forget about your reputation, but you can replace the way they think of you– by gaining a good reputation.

Ultimately, this is the best way of managing a poor reputation; working hard to replace people’s perceptions of you with positives. You could do volunteer work, donate to charity, offer pro bono work, or just go the extra mile to help other people and be polite and courteous at all times.

The more people experience the good side of you, the more they will be able to move past your questionable reputation. Working on your good side and the passage of time are the best ways to manage your reputation; it might not be the immediate solution you were hoping for, but you’ll get there in the end. Be patient, do good things, and soon your reputation will improve.