Taking criticism can be a difficult thing. Nobody likes to be told they’re wrong. But it’s not all bad news because sometimes you can use criticism to give you a competitive edge.
Criticism is a form of communication
- If someone has a criticism it means they want to give you feedback on what you’re doing for them
- Learn more about the person who you’re working for and how to convert them into a satisfied customer or audience member
- Take a moment to think before responding
The right kind of criticism can give you an advantage
- if you can get a customer to tell you how to give them the perfect product or service, that’s information you’ve got that no one else has
- That puts you at an advantage over anyone else in your sector and can be used again in the future to get things right, even faster
- Find ways to squeeze that information from your client or audience and get them to tell you what they really want
Use positive language, elicit a solution
- The language you use in response to criticism is vitally important
- Try to avoid getting into an argument
- Instead, turn the exchange into a discussion about how to resolve the problem
Feedback helps make your product stronger
- If you always think you’re right but don’t get feedback from anyone else, how do you know for sure that what you’re doing is any good?
- Whether you’re selling or performing, whether it’s a product or service, listening and acting on those honest views will tell you precisely what’s good and what can be done better
Don’t Take It Personally
- Don’t retaliate with an extreme knee-jerk reaction or else you can irreparably damage your prospect of working with that client or audience and can even harm your reputation as well
- A good professional is able to take criticism on board and not respond as though it’s a personal attack
It forces you to think about how you work
- Constructive criticism can guide you away from bad practices and towards good ones
- Try to be objective and look at what you’re providing as though it’s not yours
