One-Minute Communications Tips Archive
March 2008

Criticize Without Leaving Scars

A colleague asks your opinion of his or her work. You hate most of it. How can you be brutally honest without being brutish?

Begin by saying that you liked some things and disliked others. Most people will find this reasonable and will mentally prep themselves for the coming criticism.

Then talk about the positive aspects of the person's work.
When you get to the negatives, preface your comments with "Now here's where I think it has some problems," or words to that effect.

Be objective in your criticism. Make it about the task, not the worker. Explain your position with specific examples. With every critique, offer a constructive suggestion. Compare the job to something the coworker did well in the past.

Another approach is to speak about your reactions: "I didn't understand this part" or "I had trouble reaching the toggle switch."

Make your points; strengthen the relationship.
 

© Arun Sinha, Access Communications. Access Communications is a marketing communications and technical writing firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Sign up for Access Communications's One-Minute Communication Tip at http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com. Once a month, you'll receive an actionable idea or technique on an aspect of business communications, distilled into about 150 words.

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