★GREAT FAMILY HOME★

• 1,771 sq ft.

• 3 bedroom

2 full baths (baths recently remodeled)

• Sunroom

• Detached garage w/ 6 parking spaces

• 6-ft-high wooden privacy fence

• ¾ acre in town

• Original wood burning fireplace

• Nice landscaping

• New roof

• Real wood floors

Called Out?

Learn how to give and take criticism the right way.

The purpose of criticism should be to help people improve, do something differently or perform work better, and careless or frustrated words don’t do that. Criticism is a part of life, and we’re betting you’d like to learn how to handle it better.

Dish It Out

Let’s not pretend that giving criticism is always easier than taking it. It can be difficult to clearly explain an issue with empathy, and it’s often easier to just let ‘em have it. Criticism should never be used to vent, feed your ego or relieve stress.

Try using the sandwich approach to help you deliver criticism more thoughtfully. The idea is to sandwich the criticism between two compliments much like you would with peanut butter and two slices of bread.

“It can be challenging, but the best criticism is the most mindful, and the most targeted,” according to lifehacker.com

Stay focused on the issue without getting personal. If it’s in a work setting, themuse.com suggests asking the other person for possible solutions to the problem to encourage them to take ownership of it. But in other settings, where you’re not the manager or authority, avoid giving instructions on how to fix a problem. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes—you probably wouldn’t want to be told what to do.

Take It

We know how hard it can be to take criticism, especially if it’s not being delivered kindly. How to master it? Get curious. Hendrie Weisinger, Ph.D., and trained in clinical, counseling and organizational psychology, says listening with curiosity can inhibit your body’s defensive response.

“Adapt the attitude that, ‘the person is telling me something he or she thinks is important. I need to know more,’” he says. “This allows you to approach criticism with a friendlier attitude, and, as a result, you can become more physically relaxed and learn.” Ask the person criticizing you questions beginning with “what” so you can get to the root of the issue without sounding defensive with “why” questions. This can also determine whether the person is trying to be helpful or not. Then, take a day or two to process the exchange and come up with ways to improve or change things before following up. The result? Better relationships and better ways of working with and dealing with others. Without the tears, we might add.