How to make people fear you

+62 votes
asked Jul 8, 2019 in Culture & Society by CoyTurnbull8 (260 points)
edited Jul 17, 2019
I don’t have that intimidating look or the build. Is there any way to get people to fear me? Some people just have an aura that you know you shouldn’t mess with. What is their secret? And how to make people fear you?

2 Answers

+10 votes
answered Aug 5, 2019 by GeorgettaPar (370 points)
edited Aug 6, 2019
If you want people to fear you by means of intimidation, then I could tell you how. The best kind of intimidation is the one that is implied. When you point a gun, you want people to fear the one welding it and not the gun. Scaring someone is not intimidation. It's about getting that respect for your power and authority.

Looks can be one of the easier ways to do so. Be mysterious and impossible to read. Not shaving  or a trench coat will do the same thing as a clean shaven look with a suit. This is up to you, but you want people to know less about you. The more things left to their imagination, the more menacing you are to the opponent as they try to fill the blanks. People fear the uncertainty and unknown. If you don’t want to be the “crazy, unbalanced” type, then you can make people fear you by just being silent and composed. Never say too much of anything. Never flinch to anything the opposition says. You want to speak in a direct, snappy sort of way, the kind that channel that you mean business. No smiles, no blinks, just straight to the point.

Oh, and size do help. If you can’t be smart with your words and composure, then work hard hitting the gym.
+1 vote
answered Jul 16, 2019 by GracielaRuss (190 points)
edited Jul 30, 2019
Let’s see how to answer your question how to make people fear you. The keyword is respect. If a bomb specialist is trying to defuse a bomb, everyone will try their best to not get in his way and listen carefully to his words. That is the respect people have for his position of power.  This power he has by knowing for to defuse a bomb. Power is what differentiates you between being the spectator or the actor. Acquiring some sort of that power is what let people respect you. For the above case, knowledge is the power.

Who will you trust more, someone with a Ph.D. or a high school drop out? Would a company lay you off if they know that you are really good at impressing people? Being so good at a certain skill is one of the ways to be powerful. Power begets more power, the more people listen to you, the more access you have to people with higher authority. Then people would fear and respect you for your connections you have with the higher ups. This is a smarter answer that you wanna know about how to make people fear you.
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