Constructive Criticism Is Good For Your Health

So-called “constructive criticism” is totally different than spending the day complaining.

And how do these two situations differ? In attitude! In the first case, the posture taken helps and in the second it causes discomfort and damage.

Furthermore, constructive criticism is proven to be good for health. Would you like to know why? So don’t miss this article!

What is constructive criticism?

We could define it as an opinion given to someone (or ourselves) with the aim of helping. It is a mature, respectful and responsible attitude towards whom we address.

The value of constructive criticism is based on the purpose: to achieve a favorable change, to help the person to be better, etc.

However, in many cases, taking our point of view with a totally altruistic stance is frowned upon. Most people believe that the purpose is to interfere in what happens to others or that it is a way of disqualifying what they do.

And that thought couldn’t be further from reality! Constructive criticism develops respectable values ​​in ourselves.

Some of them are loyalty, honesty and respect. However, as they often misinterpret, it would be good to let us know what our intention is before making a corresponding “criticism”.

This way we will  avoid a misunderstanding and develop a better predisposition of those who receive our comment.

What is the difference from destructive criticism? There are several points where both attitudes differ. In the case of negative criticism, it is one that does not offer anything good and that has the sole purpose of inconveniencing, harming, etc.

Admittedly, people don’t always do this on purpose, but that kind of criticism is really unbearable. And worst of all, destructive criticism is often more repetitive than constructive ones.

How to offer constructive criticism?

We often want to help someone and things don’t go as we expected. There may be some misunderstanding or feedback we didn’t want. The process of constructively complaining is based on three phases:

• Start with a positive point.
• Express the grievance in a simple way and without hurting susceptibly.
• End with an optimistic opinion to encourage change.

When constructive criticism is received, we should be flattered, not angry. Having someone with that kind of attitude towards us should be inspiring and motivating.

According to a Psycology Today publication, there is a method called “sandwich” to give this kind of criticism that helps. It can sometimes be difficult to put it into practice from start to finish… but it’s worth the effort! The steps are:

Discuss the objective topic

It would be good if you didn’t use words or phrases like “you didn’t do this”, “you lack that”, “you shouldn’t”, etc. The idea is not to attack the person, but to say things that help them improve in that task. So,  better if the conversation moves from a personal criticism to a global opinion.

For example, instead of saying “you don’t explain things well to customers”, we will say “customers are not getting the information they need”.

talk about the good things

It’s easier to start a conversation with someone if you start with the compliment. This is one of the maxims in marketing and politics. It’s really a challenge to say what’s positive first, before talking about the negatives.

Congratulate the person on their strengths and abilities first, and motivate the other to continue with those traits. Then, when it’s time to break the bad news, the other person won’t feel so bad or pressured.

present evidence

It is not simply a matter of saying what the person does wrong or how they could improve. It is also interesting to add some evidence of this, a study, etc.

Sometimes we don’t have a survey on a particular topic, but  we can cite direct consequences of such a task:  “I noticed that every time customers understand the benefits of the product, they end up buying”, following an initial example.

put yourself on the same level

What would you feel or think if someone else told you what you just said? If it’s a bad thing, then look for a better way to start the conversation.

Never start a conversation from a position of superiority  or more intelligence. We always start on an equal footing, to demonstrate that we want to help. You can use a similar situation that occurred to you and show how you solved it.

“When customers didn’t buy the products, I talked more about them”.

Reaffirm trust

Telling others that you believe they will improve and change is very positive and is one of the best ways constructive criticism can have the desired effect.  Express your confidence in the other person’s abilities and skills, and assure them that things will get better.

What if they give me constructive criticism?

Of course, others can (and should) do this. There are many advantages to accepting positive reviews. Some of them:

Value yourself more

Knowing how to accept that we made mistakes is the first step to improve and change. But, in addition, it demonstrates how responsible we are to ourselves and how we can ensure our qualities.

If we are told that we do something wrong, it is because the other person wants us to be better people.

control pride

It is not easy to accept the error. Therefore, if we are able to accept criticism from others as well as our own, it  is because our desire to improve is greater than our pride.

avoid conflicts

Learning to handle constructive criticism from others serves to solve internal as well as external and social problems. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is really very productive.