I open up the floor with three questions (which I also answer).
Respect:
(1) What does it mean to you?
(2) How is it earned?
(3) If it is lost, can it be regained?
(1) What does it mean to you?
I don't care about most people. Respect means I actually have some reason to give a shit about you. Maybe I admire you. Maybe I recognize you as a force to be reckoned with, even if I am not fond of you. Maybe I am interested in hearing what you have to say. For me, respect means you actually appear on my radar as an individual instead of a generic, interchangeable one of the masses.
(2) How is it earned?
My respect is earned by showing me you can own your shit. Owning your shit means taking care of business, rolling with setbacks and finding a way. Owning your shit means that if you fuck up, then you admit it, learn from it, and clean up your mess. Owning your shit means you are real, avoid posturing, either keep your private shit private or are brutally open about exactly how you are, warts and all.
(3) If it is lost, can it be regained?
Respect is a sliding scale for me. So you lose respect in the opposite way you earn it. If you're on my radar, I have a running tally in my head for you.
If you lose so much respect that your score dips into the negative, you don't go back to being beneath my notice. I'm not cautiously neutral with you as I am with others. At best, I'm actively going to make a point of avoiding you.