Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing this post with others. I appreciate that very much!

I agree – criticism does get a bad rap because of the negative connotation that has evolved around the word. Criticism involves judgment – judgment isn’t always negative, but when people judge without having enough information or apply that judgment to people it creates a lot of problems.

Critical thinking is a great skill, but too much judgment happens without this vital step. Even negative criticism can be delivered effectively and with empathy with the check list you provided here. Thanks for that! :-)

Being critical isn’t a bad thing, but being negative in our criticism just for the sake of self edification isn’t the best use of our time or energy.

Again, what I want to be clear about here is that feedback AND criticism can each be positive of negative. Criticism simply means judgment (positive or negative) and feedback means a reaction or response (positive or negative). It’s helpful if you can be prescriptive, but sometimes you will like something simply because you have a particular preference that defies logic or reason.

We like to build critiques that support our reactions, but that doesn’t make them valid – it simply illustrates something about our own character and what we think will justify our feelings. Make sense?

Can I just tell you I love that you used the word “heuristic” in a comment on my blog?!

Deep breaths do help – also, I like to tell myself that in 10 years none of this will matter. I’ll have to check out that book – we communicate volumes in between our words. The ability to turn criticism around to discover what someone else is feeling is a valuable skill to have.

Thanks so much!

You’re very welcome! And, you’re right to do so. Both things are great for discussion… besides, if you didn’t like criticism, you would have problems every time someone said “great post” since after all, that is criticism. ;-)

Thanks for the comment.

That’s feedback. If you would have said that my post was fantastic because I chose a dog photo, *that* would be criticism. ;-)

I know you are but what am I?

Just kidding. I think you raise a good point in that responding to criticism with criticism is never a good approach. Responding to criticism with empathy and feedback is definitely the way to go if you’re interested in having a productive conversation.

Thanks for adding your voice (and your humor)!

Communication IS difficult! It’s definitely more art than science, but I do my best to see certain patterns and address them in a way that others can understand them — this in turn helps my understanding, too.

I like your quote. It’s a good one (yes, that’s a criticism) :-)