What I would also like to know from you, please, is your opinion on criticism in general. I find that most conversations between people involves criticism of some sort, whether it is criticising something or someone else. How do you handle this type of a conversation when criticism is being dished?

Laurie: I agree – it is challenging, especially when it’s someone giving it to me and not the other way around. To answer your question (a good one by the way) speaking generally, I usually assume that there’s some miscommunication (on my part) or information missing. Either I’m don’t know a particular aspect of what they’re saying or they don’t know something about the situation (ie. me) to have made the criticism. Often I ask, as politely as I can, how they came up with the conclusion or saying something like “Is that really true? How do you know that?” Then we both start thinking more about it and have a better understanding of what led to the criticism…and if it is true or not. Sometimes, it is true and they’ve taught me something about myself (hopefully, it was all amicable!).

Thanks for visiting this post too, Rowe. I appreciate the time you took to come by.

I agree. Thinking before we speak is always a good idea, and these are great questions to ask ourselves.

Thank you for sharing.

Laurie: Yes, but it’s too bad that I had to learn this from experience. LOTS of experience. Thanks for visiting, Michael.

Laurie: That’s true. A few seconds is the difference between saying something smart or stupid. Thanks, Giovanna.