Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to take criticism in stride.
Speaker 1: We all get negative feedback from time to time. You
Speaker 1: can't please everyone, Plus none of us is perfect, so
Speaker 1: sometimes criticism can help. But there are ways to distinguish
Speaker 1: between helpful and unhelpful negative feedback, and being able to
Speaker 1: do so can help us keep moving forward. Today's tip,
Speaker 1: like a few others this week, comes from Todd Henry's
Speaker 1: new book Daily Creative. In this guide, Todd shares three
Speaker 1: hundred sixty six tips for helping creative people stay prolific, brilliant,
Speaker 1: and healthy. One tip is about how to deal with
Speaker 1: negative feedback. Todd recounts the time that he had read
Speaker 1: a bad review of his podcast. He decided to do
Speaker 1: a little experiment and pasted the reviewers user name into
Speaker 1: his browser along with the word review. The result many
Speaker 1: many one star reviews, disparaging all sorts of podcasts. Apparently
Speaker 1: this person had never heard a podcast that reached an
Speaker 1: acceptable bar. It's kind of funny, but you know, also
Speaker 1: par for the course. As Todd writes, you will receive
Speaker 1: negative feedback for your work, and it's important to receive
Speaker 1: that feedback with grace and perspective. He continues that in
Speaker 1: this case, perspective means understanding that, rather than building something
Speaker 1: of their own, some people just spend their energy tearing
Speaker 1: down the work of others. We can all wonder why
Speaker 1: people feel compelled to do this, but there's no doubt
Speaker 1: that's some do. On the other hand, sometimes critical feedback
Speaker 1: is helpful. I have worked with some great editors over
Speaker 1: the years who weren't exactly warm and fuzzy, and they
Speaker 1: let me know when a draft wasn't working. When they
Speaker 1: were right, they were right. And if someone can show
Speaker 1: me exactly what I am doing wrong, that is an
Speaker 1: incredible gift. I am also grateful to the person who
Speaker 1: once mocked my speech notes and told me to get
Speaker 1: my head out of them. For the past seven years,
Speaker 1: I have almost universally spoken from memory and generally with
Speaker 1: no power point, and it's been much better. Yes, getting
Speaker 1: critical feedback can feel rough, but if the result is improvement,
Speaker 1: isn't it worth it. It was once in a group
Speaker 1: workshop where one person refused to let any of us
Speaker 1: comment on her work. I thought it was such a
Speaker 1: waste of an opportunity. We need to toughen up. So
Speaker 1: how do you tell the friends? Todd has some wise
Speaker 1: Thoughts and Daily Creative. When you receive negative feedback, he says,
Speaker 1: pause and ask is the intent here to help me
Speaker 1: get better? Or to tear me down? If it's the former,
Speaker 1: learn from it, apply it and move on with life.
Speaker 1: If it's the latter, sweep it into the dustbin and
Speaker 1: again move on with life. It's easy to let negative
Speaker 1: feedback bother you more than it should. But if it
Speaker 1: is helpful, it is great, even if delivered with a
Speaker 1: bit more gruffness than necessary. If it is just mean,
Speaker 1: then the person's thoughts don't really matter. Go read some
Speaker 1: more positive reviews if you want to, or just accept
Speaker 1: that someone out there in this great, big world doesn't
Speaker 1: like you. Oh well. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our tax Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p O D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows talk