Criticism - When Is It Called For?
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 12:53PM Discouragement can come from any quarter. It most often comes from well meaning people who think that they have your best interests at heart when they tell you that what you are in the process of doing happens to suck.
They don’t see or hear the finished product like you do, they only see what is before them and they criticize that. It doesn’t engender a wild desire to please that person or to make it better. It only serves to discourage the person doing the ACTUAL work.
If you feel compelled to criticize someone, consider first my favorite question, “what do you want to have happen?” and then filter what you are going to say through that perspective.
Secondly, consider whether that person has asked for your opinion. That is a big deal. If I am just recording something and I have only some of the instruments and none of the vocals and someone comes in and tells me it sucks, that is not going to encourage me to make it better.
When and while you are creating you have this creative energy filling your momentum the way wind fills sails. It doesn’t take much to take the momentum out of creativity at the nascency.
Once it gets really rolling and is formed then no amount of criticism or discouragement from an outside party is going to have that much affect on whether I finish or not.
But at the nascency, it is a fragile thing, a thin shelled egg of possibility. Let it mature, let it grow. If the final product sucks then you’ve still learned from the process.
If you shatter that fragile thing at the nascency then nothing is learned from the process except, perhaps, to stay away from that person when you are creating.
Thirdly, consider if what you are going to say will actually help or hinder the project at this stage. Be patient, if someone cares about your opinion, they will ask for it.
Then you have a responsibility to be kind, clear and honest. You can say, perhaps, that something still needs some development from your perspective.
A phrase like that is easier to digest then, “it sucks!”
Reader Comments (1)
I personally would only criticize if I think it will be for the betterment of the person. This actually depends on the person for me. Some people can feel encouraged by criticism while others may feel dejected.