When you validate something, you simply acknowledge its existence. It doesn’t mean that you agree with the person or even that you support them in their feelings. It only means that you recognize the thing that you’re validating. It’s merely recognizing the other person’s point of view. When you validate others, you may do one or more of the following.
Offer Acceptance Even if you Disagree
One thing to remember is that when you validate someone, you’re not always agreeing with them. You don’t have to agree with people to validate their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or situations. Saying something like, “You’re feeling angry about this. I accept that” will go a long way toward further communication and nurturing of the relationship.
Provide Recognition of Their Point of View
Recognizing someone’s point of view is a compelling way to communicate with someone. Again, you don’t have to agree with someone’s point of view to validate it. You can simply state that you recognize it, and they’re going to feel validated if you don’t say “but” after you recognize their view.
Reassure Them They Have a Right to Their Feelings
Even when something is wrong, it’s their right to feel how they want to feel. Avoiding telling people they “shouldn’t” feel that way is a great way to ensure that you are validating someone’s feelings. Stating, “You have a right to your feelings,” doesn’t take away from your own ideas about their feelings, but it does give them the validation they need to stay open to continued communication.
Assure Their Importance in The World
No matter what someone thinks or feels, they are essential in the world. Offering people validation gives them that assurance that they aren’t all alone. When you genuinely show someone you hear them, again, even if you don’t agree, it really does go far in keeping the communication going.
Encourage Effective Communication
Communication is often mentioned with validation because it’s one of the most significant advantages of understanding and offering validation to people you’re communicating with. It’s one of the best skills anyone can learn in life.
This is a skill that you may need to develop and practice. It’s hard sometimes to first react to people with the thought of validating them. However, if you make it your goal, you’ll soon find that it’s helping you.
Validation is a simple concept to understand, and if you practice it with your relationships, whether personal or business-oriented, you will see a vast improvement in your overall communication as well as your likeability.
Plus, people will grow to trust you more and be more willing to talk to you about difficult topics because they know you won’t judge them, and that you are truly listening and not only that but that you heard them.
