How to Deal with Ignorant People

A person becomes ignorant when they think they are educated when they’re not, know something when they don’t, or are more aware than others. And it how to deal with ignorant people that cause us frustration and aggravate us.

Ignorance is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “a lack of knowledge, education, or awareness”. Now, not being aware, educated, or knowledgeable is not a negative thing in itself. It simply implies that a person doesn’t know or isn’t aware of something.

For example, a computer geek may be knowledgeable about computers but doesn’t know a thing about cars or aware that if he doesn’t put water in the radiator the engine could overheat and become damaged.

What is more damaging is when one is ignorant in such a way that they think they know more than others and refuse to listen to others’ viewpoints.

Here are some tips on how to deal with ignorant people.

1. Ignore Them

Ignorant people and rude people are similar in the sense that they both need attention. The rude person is invasive to get attention while the ignorant person is a know-it-all. The ignorant person wants to impress people with his mental abilities. However, both the ignorant person and the rude person can be equally annoying.

But you can deal with the ignorant person just like you would the rude person. That is, ignore them. In fact, ignoring the ignorant person is perhaps the best way to deal with them; they need the attention of others to make them feel good about what they think they know.

2. Be Kind

Be kind to someone who irritates you? This sounds difficult and perhaps it is. But if you understand that ignorant people are not well informed and not necessarily bad, then you can access empathy for them.

Many ignorant people learned to talk about or say things they know nothing about. They also have learned to give input without knowing all the facts.

You can often deal with ignorant people by just gently educating them about the situation. Being kind not only helps you down the road, but it also has the potential of placing you in a good position with the ignorant person.

3. Speak to the Person

Some ignorant people can be hard headed about their behaviour, primarily because they may have a deep need to protect their ego from correction. This type of ignorant person can be a little more difficult to deal with. However, in some instances you can deal with them by taking them aside, away from distractions, and explain how their behavior is damaging their reputations.

This could be especially effective for employers to utilize with ignorant employees that just don’t seem to get it otherwise. There is little that could disrupt morale and production more than an ignorant person that is talking work related issues that they really don’t totally understand, for talking about who will be laid-off when they are not part of management and in the know.

4. Have Patience

Many ignorant people don’t realize that they don’t know everything involved in particular situation, but instead assume that they do with the little information that have. They are presumptuous too. But, again, this doesn’t make them bad people.

One of the most effective tools you can use in dealing with ignorant people is patience. Using patience helps you remain calm whenever interacting with ignorant people and helps them to slow down a bit and think it through before talking.

How to deal with ignorant people requires time and patience more than anything else. But also requires you to gently educate the ignorant person so that they can see the whole of a situation before they conclude that they know what it’s all about.


This entry was posted in Communication Skill and tagged How to Deal With Ignorant People on by admin.

About admin

Peter W. Murphy is a peak performance expert. His focus is on key distinctions that make a big difference. He enjoys going deep into a research topic to discover the often overlooked but key elements anyone can focus on to achieve much better results. Peter enjoys competitive tennis, travel, good friends, loud music and taking time to enjoy the moment.


  1. Anytomous. says:

    This is good :). Add more please..