Criticize Like a Pro: 8 Rules You Should Never Break!

Learn how to criticize like a professional and people will love you. Either in the work environment or at your personal relationships, there always comes a need to criticize. It might just be expressing your opinion about somebody, blaming one for his fault or just disapprove of somebody's behavior.
You will always find it difficult to avoid getting into a personal conflict, argument or hurting somebody's feelings. The act of judging itself makes you vulnerable to a negative initial reaction that is going to be difficult to overcome.
Unless you apply those simple but effective rules:
Rule #1: Try to do it in private. Avoid big audiences.
It is more than clear that when you criticize somebody in public, in front of his colleagues or peers it is more likely he will become defensive and fight back. This is particularly true when that person is an authority figure. Avoid the audience, unless your primary goal is to intimidate, bash or humiliate that person.
Clearly in that case you would not care reading this article, so take that person to the side and whisper to his ear if needed...
Rule #2: Generalize.
Try to avoid making it too personal and the reaction you will get back will be milder. You can say something similar to: "...although most of us have made this mistake in the past" or "...I see that happening all the time".
This will make it look like you are making a general observation than trying to point your finger towards that person.
Rule #3: Try to give some praise before you criticize or in between.
Remember your goal is not to belittle anybody, but to pass your message without creating a personal vendetta. Adding a compliment about this person's previous achievements and work can create less of a negative impact.
The person you are trying to criticize will also feel flattered and won't think you are personally attacking.
Rule #4: Attribute some of the problem to yourself.
Say "I should probably have told you in advance,...", "I didn't show you how to do it right...", "I should have insisted more on teaching you how to...". All those phrasesAlcatel lucent 4A0-106 practice test can be used to create an environment of sharing the responsibility between a team.
I know this is not always possible but if you think about it, you can always come up with similar expressions.
Rule #5: Focus on the action, not the person itself.
The truth of the matter is that when we criticize somebody, it is because he acted in a way we do not approve. So, it is this particular action and not the person itself that provoked our reaction.
Focusing on the problem (specific action) and avoiding generalizations such as: "You always do this although I've told you..." or "It's always you causing such problems" will help with your argument. Do not criticize the person itself but how he acted instead.
Rule #6: Try to find a solution.
Criticizing for the sake of criticizing will only make it sound like you have personal reasons to confront somebody. Explain to that person why his action was wrong and try to find a solution for similar issues in the future.
You can say "The reason I am telling you is...[consequence]" or "Next time feel free to ask for my help and I will be there for you...".
Rule #7: Do not imply it was a purposeful action.
Say "You likely haven't faced such a problem before..." or "you unwillingly, by mistake etc." will improve your chances of getting the message across. We all make mistakes and most of the times we have no intention of hurting anybody with our actions even if we end up doing this exact thing.
Attaching a blame by saying "You knew this would happen...etc." is not going to help.
Rule #8: Watch your body language.
This very important clue can make or break your whole argument. Try to sit at an angle or side by side with the person you are050-695 trying to criticize.
Standing straight in front of your friend, colleague or employee and facing him directly is much more likely to create tension between the two of you.