Treating people in a positive manner that acknowledges them for who they are and/or what they are doing. Being treated or treating an individual in a dignified manner.
Respect is earned and is
never just given. BUT, you must give respect to receive respect. Meaning when you interact with an individual you treat them with dignity and in a respectful manner as this shows your character as a person. And the respect
will be reciprocated. You must always behave in a respectful manner as this reflects on you, your character, integrity and values of who you are as a person.
No one owes you respect until you have earned it, so there is no such thing as I
will give it after they give it to me
first. That attitude is a disrespectful action to anyone you interact with as it insinuates that you do not
trust them to act accordingly, and implies that they "owe" you respect before you
will give it. That
will cause people to LOSE respect for you or
never gain it in the first place. When you first
meet someone, everyone is given the benefit of the doubt that they are a respectable individual. Questioning their integrity(respect) before you have even met them and "expecting" respect to be given without giving it yourself is insulting and condescending to that person and is judging them in a negative
light when you know absolutely nothing about them.
Thus,
To get respect, you must give it. So respectful behavior should just be part of how you act as a person 100% of the
time.