What They Really Mean When They Belittle You

The Jefferson Fisher Podcast

Civility Media

Education, Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Relationships

5 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A belittling comment is never about you—it’s about them. In this episode, I break down why people use belittling remarks as a grab for dominance, how to decode the real intent behind their words, and why it’s usually just a projection of their own insecurity. You’ll learn the exact questions to ask that shut down the power play, shift the spotlight back where it belongs, and keep you in control of the conversation. Thank you to our sponsors: Cozy Earth. Upgrade Your Every Day. Get 40% off at cozyearth.com/jefferson or use code JEFFERSON at check out. Masa Chips. Get 25% off at https://www.masachips.com/pages/jefferson BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/jeffersonfisher for a discount on your first month of therapy. Order my new book, The Next Conversation, or listen to the full audiobook today. Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review! Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Want a FREE communication tip each week? Click here to join my newsletter. Join My School of Communication Watch my podcast on YouTube Follow me on Instagram Follow me on TikTok Follow me on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Here's the truth about AI. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into.
0:05.7	ServiceNow puts AI to work for people across your business, removing friction and frustration
0:11.2	for your employees, supercharging productivity for your developers, providing intelligent
0:16.5	tools for your service agents to make customers happier, all built into a single platform you can
0:21.9	use right now. That's why the world works with ServiceNow. Visit servicenow.com
0:27.8	slash UK slash AI for people. A belittling comment from someone is never about you. It's about them.
0:36.1	Today in this episode, we are diving deep on the hidden meaning of belittling comments and asking the question, what do they really mean and how do we handle them?
0:45.2	All that and more coming up.
0:47.0	Welcome to the Jefferson Fisher podcast, where I'm on a mission to make your next conversation, the one that changes everything.
0:53.7	If you enjoy learning tools to improve your communication, I'm going to ask you to conversation the one that changes everything. If you enjoy learning tools to
0:54.9	improve your communication, I'm going to ask you to find the button wherever you're listening. It does not
0:59.7	matter what platform that says subscribe. And I'm going to ask you to click it because I am making a
1:04.8	promise to you that if you listen to this episode and if you subscribe to this podcast, I will make
1:10.0	you a better communicator based on the things
1:12.6	that we talk about, the questions that get asked, and the things that I teach.
1:16.5	And so it is my blessing and my honor to be able to share this with you and form and make
1:20.6	this podcast to be able to talk about this stuff.
1:23.3	And I really appreciate it.
1:25.1	This podcast is sponsored by Cozy Earth. Cozy Earth has been a sponsor of this podcast because I use appreciate it. This podcast is sponsored by Cozy Earth.
1:28.3	Cozy Earth has been a sponsor of this podcast
1:30.2	because I use their stuff.
1:33.3	I am kind of hard on sponsors, so to speak,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Civility Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Civility Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.