Giving positive and constructive criticism
May 16, 2009 by Chris Duran
Filed under Articles, Blog, Habits, Mental Attitude, Positivity, Social Development
The aim of giving criticism is generally to improve the performance or output of an individual, by giving feedback on their current progress.
Anybody who has been in the position of having to correct or give feedback to another will know this: Giving criticism sucks. Receiving criticism sucks even more. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had to bear the brunt of some pretty brutal criticism in the past. Having somebody point out a flaw in your working or personal habits can be a pretty damning experience . This is especially the case if the criticism is received in a negative or non-constructive manner (and in my field of science the criticism can be particularly aggressive).
Unfortunately, in a relationship of any level it is an inevitability that you will one day need to give criticism of a persons actions. This is as relevant (maybe even more so) for work relationships as it is for family or personal relationships.
Fortunately, there are ways of giving criticism that minimise the upsetting effects of receiving negative criticism by giving criticism in a positive and constructive manner. One of these is known as the ‘Hamburger model’. This model argues that a constructive criticism should, when delivered, be both preceded and followed by a constructive compliment. I think that this model has it merits in particular circumstances. Unfortunately, it tends to fall apart in other circumstances, which has given it the nickname of ‘bulls&^t sandwich’ amongst its detractors.
The Hamburger Model:
| Pros | Cons |
| Really easy formula to remember | If delivered incorrectly, can come across as insincere |
| Allows you to reaffirm the persons self-worth | Doesn’t work as well in peer-groups – can come across as demeaning |
| Tends to work well in relationships where you have seniority | Doesn’t force the deliverer to construct a suggestive atmosphere |
The time you are going to have the most trouble giving constructive criticism, is with your peer groups (a partner, work colleague, etc.). In these cases I think a better method to the hamburger method is to approach the problem directly and considering input from the receiver of the criticism. Remember to approach the whole situation from a positive and constructive angle. Serving up a hamburger to your peer might come across as a little insincere.
An example, if Alborz came up to me and offered:
“Hi Chris, I really like how regularly you’ve been pumping out the Cognicology articles over the last few months, it has been really awesome. I’ld like to talk to you about the examples you are giving in your articles however. I think that you tend to use us in them a little too much. You’ve done well in your writing though be giving real life analogies though, so keep it up man.”
I might find that a little condescending. We don’t have a boss/employee relationship so it would come across as a bit of a powergrab.
Approaching this directly might be a better idea in this case:
“Hi Chris, I wanted to talk to you about the examples that we are using in our articles on Cognicology. I’m worried about the overusage of us as example cases throughout the articles in the site. I was wondering what you thought of this situation? I’ve been thinking that maybe we could look at introducing a few alternative examples on the site.”
This approach is treating me as an equal. He is raising an issue he has spotted. He then asks for my opinion on the matter and then offers some helpful suggestions on how we could rectify/improve the situation. Hopefully, we will now have a constructive dialogue on the subject matter.
When approaching this situation directly, a few things to take note of:
Go the scout route: Be prepared!
At the end of the day, you are trying to help change or increase the output of the recepient. If you take an approach where you are going to have a dialogue on the matter, it is quite probable they will not agree with your POV. You need to have a strong argument behind your reason.
Don’t be petty
Having to construct a strong argument helps this point – make sure the situation you have a criticism about is worth the trouble of raising it. i.e. It is something that is detrimental to productivity or your relationship, not just a little ‘pet hate’. If you can’t think of a good argument why, it probably isn’t worth raising.
Follow up
This is a great point from Instigator Blog. Once you have opened a dialogue about a situation, discussed it and came up with some solutions, catch up and have a discussion about how things are going, and compliment them on their improved performance.
Final notes…
Having the skills to deliver criticism in a positive light can be a major advantage in living a happy and successful life. People who can deliver criticism in a positive and constructive way tend to have stronger relationships of all kinds, and more productive and successful working relationships. Also, people who can deliver criticism constructively tend to be able to take stock of external criticism more effectively.