How to be more confident and deal with criticism

Criticism is never nice to receive, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Getting compliments is nice, but it doesn’t do you any good. You can learn and grow from criticism. How? By reading the following tips on how to deal with this!

1. Don’t go all defensive

Criticism is often seen as something bad, so your first instinct is to counterattack. Listen to what that person has to say. Think carefully about what the person means and if you don’t understand, ask for clarification. Otherwise it’ll be difficult to learn from the criticism. You’ll also react less emotionally as a result.

2. Keep asking questions

If you ask for clarification, it’s good to keep asking. For example, if your teacher says your report is bad, ask what’s wrong with it. Are there too many spelling mistakes? Or have you misunderstood a particular assignment? In this way you also understand what the criticism is about and how you can improve it or do better in the future.

3. Learn from your mistakes

Nobody’s perfect and nobody does everything right the first time. You should therefore see criticism as feedback. You now know what you did wrong, and the next time you have a similar assignment or situation, you know what to do and what not.

4. Unjustified criticism

At some point, you’ll disagree with the received criticism. You can say and explain why you don’t agree. That way they can hear what you think about it. Make sure you say this in a calm way, so that the person doesn’t feel attacked.

5. Nothing personal

It’s good to remember that most criticism isn’t based on you as a person, but on what you’ve done. Think, for example, of the fact that you can address someone in a different way, or that you can work a little faster in the future. That criticism isn’t meant to hurt you. They just want to help you move forward.

Love, Deem/Skye Lewis ❤

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