Constructive Criticism

Transcription

1 Constructive Criticism Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) Class: Communication Skills September 28, 2010 Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

2 Outline 1 Goals 2 Criticism, good and bad 3 Giving Criticism 4 Receiving Criticism 5 Summary Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

3 Goals Define the topic Help you write/give critiques Now and later Help you receive critique Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

4 Definitions The term critique derives from the Greek κριτική meaning (the art of) discerning. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

5 Definitions The term critique derives from the Greek κριτική meaning (the art of) discerning. Definition Criticism is the activity of judgement or informed interpretation and, in many cases, can be synonymous with analysis. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

6 Definitions The term critique derives from the Greek κριτική meaning (the art of) discerning. Definition Criticism is the activity of judgement or informed interpretation and, in many cases, can be synonymous with analysis. Modern connotation involves disagreement and even hostility. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

7 Definitions The term critique derives from the Greek κριτική meaning (the art of) discerning. Definition Criticism is the activity of judgement or informed interpretation and, in many cases, can be synonymous with analysis. Modern connotation involves disagreement and even hostility. Definition Constructive criticism is a compassionate attitude towards the person being criticized. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

8 Goal Definition The goal of constructive criticism is to foster improvement in future work. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

9 Goal Definition The goal of constructive criticism is to foster improvement in future work. In other words, the intent has to be positive. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

10 Goal Definition The goal of constructive criticism is to foster improvement in future work. In other words, the intent has to be positive. Additionally, improvement here implicitly means that good aspects must be preserved. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

11 Being constructive Sluggo That new kid in school is a big fathead! acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

12 Being constructive Sluggo That new kid in school is a big fathead! Nancy You shouldn t call people names like that. I never call people names. acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

13 Being constructive Sluggo That new kid in school is a big fathead! Nancy You shouldn t call people names like that. I never call people names. Sluggo Well, I just got mad when he said you were silly looking. acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

14 Being constructive Sluggo That new kid in school is a big fathead! Nancy You shouldn t call people names like that. I never call people names. Sluggo Well, I just got mad when he said you were silly looking. Nancy What else did that big fat-head say? acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

15 Being constructive Sluggo That new kid in school is a big fathead! Nancy You shouldn t call people names like that. I never call people names. Sluggo Well, I just got mad when he said you were silly looking. Nancy What else did that big fat-head say? Emotional reactions completely nullify the effect of criticism. Synonyms for constructive: positive, helpful, productive, useful, beneficial, practical. Antonyms: destructive, negative, unhelpful,... acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

16 Motivation Question: Why are you offering criticism? Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

17 Motivation Question: Why are you offering criticism? If it pains you to do it, it is worth it. If you will enjoy doing it, then keep your mouth shut. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

18 Motivation Question: Why are you offering criticism? If it pains you to do it, it is worth it. If you will enjoy doing it, then keep your mouth shut. Giving good criticism can be good for you, as it can help establish your credibility and expertize and that you are a team player. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

19 Motivation Question: Why are you offering criticism? If it pains you to do it, it is worth it. If you will enjoy doing it, then keep your mouth shut. Giving good criticism can be good for you, as it can help establish your credibility and expertize and that you are a team player. Are you being helpful or are you nitpicking? Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

20 Motivation Question: Why are you offering criticism? If it pains you to do it, it is worth it. If you will enjoy doing it, then keep your mouth shut. Giving good criticism can be good for you, as it can help establish your credibility and expertize and that you are a team player. Are you being helpful or are you nitpicking? Does it need to be changed, or just not the way you would have done it. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

21 Attributes of good criticism Clear Concise - and remember, concise blunt! Tangible, concrete Credible Well-founded Relevant Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

22 Attributes of bad criticism Personal (attack the problem, not the person) Hesitant General Not Credible Unfounded It makes you feel/look better Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

23 Examples Example 1 Bad: That logo design sucks, who the heck would pay for something like that!? Better: The balloon font used in the logo seems a bit too playful for your business, do you think a serif-font might be more professional? Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

24 Examples Example 1 Bad: That logo design sucks, who the heck would pay for something like that!? Better: The balloon font used in the logo seems a bit too playful for your business, do you think a serif-font might be more professional? Example 2 Bad: I hate red and green, why not use black and white instead! Better: 10% of the male population has red-green colorblindness, you might want to ensure that your color scheme won t turn away potential customers. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

25 Examples Example 3 Bad: I can t read the text. Better: There isn t much contrast between the background and text color, and the font size is a bit small, so the text is difficult to read. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

26 Source of the Problem In order to help correct a problem, you need to understand the cause: misunderstanding the instructions? insufficient time, effort or resources? misunderstanding the audience / purpose? insufficient education / training? oversight / careless / sloppy error? Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

27 Source of the Problem In order to help correct a problem, you need to understand the cause: misunderstanding the instructions? insufficient time, effort or resources? misunderstanding the audience / purpose? insufficient education / training? oversight / careless / sloppy error? Try incorporating this into your criticisms. Example 4 Bad : This is way too long and everyone knows this stuff! Better: My understanding is the audience are experienced programmers, I don t think they will need this level of detail in the explanation. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

28 The Hamburger Method 2 Start with positive aspects. 4 Be positive - focus on solutions. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

29 The Hamburger Method 2 Start with positive aspects. 3 Clear, concise criticism. 4 Be positive - focus on solutions. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

30 The Hamburger Method 1 Plan. Give key points. 2 Start with positive aspects. 3 Clear, concise criticism. 4 Be positive - focus on solutions. 5 (for managers) Follow-up. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

31 Hamburger Method Example: help page Well written and concise, and very easy for the competent mail user to find what they need. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

32 Hamburger Method Example: help page Well written and concise, and very easy for the competent mail user to find what they need. There should be a link to the account preferences help page under the section marked POP accounts, it s not obvious how to set that preference. Select the most important suggestions and provide positive comments throughout. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

33 Hamburger Method Example: help page Well written and concise, and very easy for the competent mail user to find what they need. There should be a link to the account preferences help page under the section marked POP accounts, it s not obvious how to set that preference. the suggestions for IMAP/Exchange are good, but I would move empty the trash to the first option, it is the easiest and best place to start. Select the most important suggestions and provide positive comments throughout. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

34 Hamburger Method Example: help page Well written and concise, and very easy for the competent mail user to find what they need. There should be a link to the account preferences help page under the section marked POP accounts, it s not obvious how to set that preference. the suggestions for IMAP/Exchange are good, but I would move empty the trash to the first option, it is the easiest and best place to start. after they delete the attachments, would it make sense for them to rebuild those mail boxes? A link to explain that option would be helpful. Select the most important suggestions and provide positive comments throughout. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

35 Hamburger Method Example: help page Well written and concise, and very easy for the competent mail user to find what they need. There should be a link to the account preferences help page under the section marked POP accounts, it s not obvious how to set that preference. the suggestions for IMAP/Exchange are good, but I would move empty the trash to the first option, it is the easiest and best place to start. after they delete the attachments, would it make sense for them to rebuild those mail boxes? A link to explain that option would be helpful. Good coverage of the main options for clearing up space. Select the most important suggestions and provide positive comments throughout. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

36 To critique a document Did the document effectively communicate its information? Is the style appropriate, does it add to the effectiveness? Organization (Introduction, conclusion, etc) Command of subject. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

37 To critique a presentation Did the presentation effectively communicate its information? Is the delivery appropriate, does it add to the effectiveness? Organization (Introduction, conclusion, etc) Command of subject. acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

38 To critique a presentation Did the presentation effectively communicate its information? Is the delivery appropriate, does it add to the effectiveness? Organization (Introduction, conclusion, etc) Command of subject. To critique someone s presentation, you must carefully listen to it so that you may analyze it. acques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

39 Receiving Criticism: It s not personal! Learning is good If you think you know it all, you re wrong. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

40 Receiving Criticism: It s not personal! Learning is good If you think you know it all, you re wrong. Listen to criticism as information Allow yourself to learn from it Have you heard this repeatedly? How credible is the source? Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18

41 Summary Criticism is a form of analysis. Constructive criticism is helpful. The Hamburger Method. Jacques Carette (pres. by Gordon Uszkay) (McMaster) Constructive Criticism September 28, / 18