How To Be Popular In High School (10 Ways)

 

Surviving high school can be difficult if you’re not popular.

If you don’t have a strong group of friends or followers in high school, then there’s a chance you’ll be isolated enough to get bullied.

Being popular can also help boost your self-esteem and confidence, which can make your high school experience more enjoyable.

Becoming popular isn’t easy, especially in high school.

Whether it’s through developing your social skills or an ability to start trends, here are 10 ways you can become popular in high school.

 

How To Be Popular In High School (10 Ways)

 

1. Set Trends

 

One of the best ways to become popular in high school is to set trends.

Popular kids in high school don’t follow other people’s trends.

They set them.

While popular kids tend to emulate their parents or older siblings, ultimately, they are the ones who introduce new things to their school.

One of the easiest ways to set a trend is through your clothes.

If you start wearing a particular style that looks great and makes you stand out, then people are going to notice.

They’re going to want to emulate you since they want the same kind of attention you’re getting.

They might also emulate you because of your confidence.

They want to experience the same kind of confidence that you have.

Clothes aren’t the only way you can set trends either.

You can introduce a new band to your school.

If other people like the music, then they’ll start coming to you for more suggestions.

In a world dominated by social media, it’s easier than ever to find new and trendy things to introduce at school.

By setting those trends instead of just following them, you’ll have people flocking to you for more rather than just doing the same thing that you’re doing.

You can become popular in high school by being a trendsetter.

 

2. Join A Popular Activity

 

Another way to become popular in high school is to join a popular activity.

The main way of becoming popular is to do something that lots of people are doing.

Then you need to work your way to the top to ensure people follow you around rather than the other way around.

You can get started with this method by joining a club or school activity.

For example, if you’re someone who enjoys athletics, then you might want to play a sport.

Traditionally, popular students have some sort of link to sports.

That’s because a lot of students, parents, and faculty enjoy sports.

It brings everyone together and gets them rooting for their respective teams.

If you’re able to display great athleticism and help your team win, then people are going to like you.

They will see you as an asset or as a leader.

Even if you’re not particularly good at sports, you can still be popular.

Theatre kids and band kids all have different tiers of popularity.

There are always kids in theatre and band who are more popular than other theatre or band kids.

Part of that comes from doing well in a particular club or activity.

If you’re able to show others that you’re a leader in that activity, then you will gain a following.

Your popularity can grow from there.

Joining activities also gives you the chance to meet new people.

You may interact with people you don’t normally interact with because of how your school arranged your classes.

The more people you know, the more popular you’re going to become.

It can be difficult to appeal to everyone’s tastes, but popular students know to make friendships with everyone.

You can become popular in high school by joining popular or active activities or clubs.

 

3. Get Good Grades

 

Another important thing to do to become popular in high school is to get good grades.

Some students might be able to become popular despite having bad grades.

However, they’re usually popular for the wrong reasons.

If you want to be popular in high school as a whole, rather than with a niche group of students, then grades matter.

Popular students tend to go on a pedestal.

Other students look up to them or follow their example.

If you’re not getting good grades in school, then there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the students not to follow your example.

Teachers might admonish and punish you.

Even other parents might warn their kids to stay away from you.

They don’t want your decisions to influence them.

As such, it can be a lot harder to become popular as a whole.

To make it easier on yourself, you need to maintain good grades.

Good grades put you in the good graces of your teachers and other parents.

When parents hear about how well you’re doing, they’ll tell their children that they should be more like you or to spend time with you.

Getting good grades doesn’t have to be hard either.

All you need to do is study.

If you struggle in school, then you should consider getting a tutor.

Once you start to do well in school and get good grades, you’ll have parents doing a lot of the hard work of making you popular.

Even the school, itself, will put you on a pedestal as an example of how all other students should behave and perform.

To become popular in high school, you need to get good grades.

 

4. Ensure Teachers Like You

 

Another important thing to keep in mind when trying to become popular in high school is to ensure your teachers like you.

When teachers like students, they tend to put a lot of the spotlight on them.

They might call the rest of the class together and compare them to you.

If the class isn’t performing as well as you are, then the teacher might encourage the class to become more like you.

They might also give you a bit of special treatment or not punish you as severely if you accidentally forget to do something.

Other students who want the same kind of treatment will start to emulate you and hover around your circle.

They want the benefits that you’re receiving.

It isn’t too hard to have teachers enjoy you either.

For one, you need to listen to them.

Even if you have a playful relationship with them, you need to know when to tease and when to obey.

By following their lead, the teacher will have respect for you.

Getting good grades also makes teachers like you.

It proves that they’re teaching the class well.

When you perform well in their class, they want to show off that success.

Your name gets blasted everywhere.

As a result, students hear about how great you are and some have a desire to share that greatness.

That usually means they need to feel close to you to share the experience.

Finally, you can make a teacher like you by respecting them.

When a student badmouths a teacher, then they might become popular, but it’s for a bad reason.

You show yourself to be a person of character when you respect your teachers instead of trash-talking them.

If you want to be popular in high school, then you need to get on good terms with your teachers.

 

5. Focus On Socializing

 

A major part of being popular is that you need to be able to socialize with others.

Being popular is a social act.

You’re the leader of a social group.

People of that group look to you for guidance, advice, and leadership.

If you’re not comfortable socializing or not particularly good at it, then you’re not going to become that popular.

Socializing encompasses more than just talking to people.

You need to know how to speak to them.

In particular, it’s important that you don’t make anyone feel inferior to you.

That isn’t being popular in high school.

That’s being a bully.

Another important aspect of socializing is ensuring that everyone feels involved in the discussion.

While you could certainly be popular in one clique, that isn’t the same as being popular as a whole.

If you want to be popular throughout high school, then you need to know how to speak to and interact with people who aren’t in your immediate friend group.

These are people who may not necessarily match your demographic or even share that many interests with you.

A real popular student is able to bring together all sorts of different people.

No matter who their friends are or what they like to do outside of school, they feel respect towards you and genuinely enjoy your company.

When you’re able to get people who are very different from you to like you, then you’re starting to become popular.

 

6. Be Competitive

 

Popular students are competitive.

They see an obstacle or a goal, and they either overcome it or achieve it.

They’re competitive by nature which is why they’re often involved in sports.

If you want to succeed in sports, then you need to be a competitive person.

In terms of popularity, competition also comes from competing with others over friend groups.

As a popular student, you need to win the hearts of everyone.

Others are trying to become popular, too.

A successful popular person is someone who has a sense of drive for making those friends before anyone else.

They want to prove themselves and reach their goals before their competitors.

There are a few ways that being competitive can help you become popular.

The first is how you use competition in sports or a club.

In sports, if you’re competitive, it likely means you’re giving the game your all.

There’s a good chance that you’ll win the game for the team, and people will love you for it.

That adds to your popularity right there.

Another way is by having that drive to become close friends with a certain number of people by a specific point in time.

Being competitive can help you get that drive to push yourself into meeting and befriending as many people as you can.

If you don’t have that drive, then you’re not going to do much in the way of helping yourself become popular.

Finally, being competitive also means you’re likely motivated.

Certain people have an attraction towards that.

They want to spend time with motivated people because they become motivated, themselves.

In many cases, staying competitive can help you become popular in high school.

 

7. Throw Events Or Parties

 

You can’t be popular if people don’t know who you are.

The best way to get people to know you, even if through reputation, is to host parties and events.

While high school parties don’t need to be the Hollywood version of trashing an expensive place and serving alcohol, you can throw a great party that’s clean and safe.

You can even host it at a nearby location to ensure you don’t get in trouble at home.

For example, if you live close to the beach, then you can always host a party on the beach.

If you live near the woods, then you can always invite everyone to a camping and hiking trip.

Creative and unique parties are interesting and memorable ones.

High school students may not recall much about parties that are the same as any other.

If you go above and beyond, however, they’ll be talking about your parties forever.

More importantly, parties and events serve as a great way to network with other people.

If you invite the whole school, for example, it isn’t just your immediate friend group that’s going to be there.

Other students whom you don’t spend a lot of time with might come to the party.

It gives you a chance to hang with them and get to know them.

Throwing a few parties or events is a great way to become popular in high school.

 

8. Improve Self-Confidence

 

One of the traits of popular people is that they’re self-confident.

You won’t often see a popular person who is shy.

They’re outgoing, charming, and have confidence in themselves.

Confident people are popular because they make other people want to be confident, too.

They may believe that by spending time with you, they’ll also learn the secret of being self-confident.

Being confident also means you’re less likely to fall prey to a bully.

It’s rare for popular kids to get bullied because they have a strong group of followers around them.

It’s risky for the bully to do anything to them.

To protect themselves from bullies as well, some students will stick with the popular person because it grants them safety.

It’s also a lot easier to believe in what someone’s saying if they’re confident about themselves.

If a confident person tells you that you’re nice, then you may take it more to heart than if the person who told you that you were nice was a loner.

You may think that the loner has ulterior motives.

Confidence can go a long way in making someone popular in high school.

 

9. Hone Public-Speaking Skills

 

Another important part of being popular is the ability to speak and speak well.

You can socialize with everyone you want, but if you’re not good at public speaking, then you’re not going to move them in any way.

A popular person can communicate well with others.

They can make their views on certain matters clear.

They also know how to stimulate conversation and break tough topics into smaller ones.

It’s not uncommon for popular students to pursue certain careers where public speaking is common.

They have a natural ability for it.

You can become popular in high school by honing your public-speaking skills.

 

10. Ask About Other People

 

A final way that you can become popular in high school is by asking things about other people.

There’s a common misunderstanding that popular people only talk about themselves.

While that may be true in the popular student’s friend group, the reason the student became popular in the first place is that they were able to ask others about themselves.

By letting other people speak, the popular student is making them feel special about themselves.

Humans love to talk about themselves.

When they’re allowed to do so, they will, and they’ll feel good about it.

A popular person can make another person feel good about themselves by allowing them to talk.

The student then comes to enjoy the feeling that they get when speaking with the popular student.

They want to continue doing so, so they follow them around.

 

Conclusion

Being popular in high school isn’t always easy.

You need to have great social skills and an ability to recognize and hijack trends before they start at school.

By trying the methods above, you stand a good chance of becoming popular in high school.