The Art of A Critic

A colleague said to me during a meeting, perhaps it was a critic, that i was too defensive in my presentation... that it would close any door for improvement as i was building a high wall to protect my ideas from any constructive critic...lol Ehm, where did he get that misleading conclusion? Me, being too defensive...refusing others' ide...wow that's not likely me... Perhaps I was a little bit defensive but didn't you think that in giving a presentation, you had to stand up for your ideas?

Then, yesterday, he gave me another blow by criticizing the way I’ve done my report. Again, his rather cynical remark made me too defensive. It made me think it over and over again. Am I too defensive and close all the doors for my improvement? What makes him jump into that conclusion, I mean there’s must be source for his accusation. May be, he’s right, I’m too proud to admit that I was wrong. Or it was merely a defensive shield against a predator as I felt I was being intimidated :-(

I try to discern things related to the matter in a way that I will do a self-introspection as well as a critical examination. I come to the conclusion that he does not master the art of criticisms too well. This makes anyone being criticized becoming too defensive because the offense he inflicts on them. I believe if he gave a constructive criticism to my work in an elaborate way (by proper choice of words and tone…eliminating the sense of his being superior …plus avoiding an attacking statement…the right words on the right time to the right people), I would not react that way. I mean if we believe what we do is right, don’t we have to stand for it? We have to argue and debate with intention to find the true and not forcing one’s idea on another’s. It's like taking a defensive shield of a deer against the hungry tiger...lol

This is the tips for making elaborate constructive criticisms:

1. Be sure that you choose the right dictions

2. Be sure you are not trying to force your own idea over him/her as the truth is still somewhere to find

3. Don’t make her/him feel being intimidated or being lectured

4. Don’t use any attacking statement

5. Stay focus that the goal is to find the best practice