How to handle negative feedback

What do you do when people review your work, comment harshly on a post, give you a tough grade, or share honest advice?

At my most sensitive, one not-glowing comment (sometimes it doesn’t even have to be negative) would cause me to give up and never come back. I left art school in 2006 where feedback is shared regularly and openly whether you want it or not, and have barely picked up a paintbrush since.

In business, this translated into worrying that I did something wrong if my newsletter open-rate dipped, my programs didn’t fill fast enough, or there was less engagement on a social media post than I expected.

Hopefully you’re better than me, and comfortably view all feedback as a stepping stone toward improvement instead of a criticism of your core being.

If you’re more likely to shutdown from feedback than keep going, this post is for you.

In addition, if you’re quick to change your tactics after one false start or a couple bad reviews, this is also for you.

Hint:: When something happens and you think that means you have to alter what you offer, the design, when you schedule things to go out…only a couple “negative” experiences is too soon to make a switch. This post is about what to do instead.

How to handle negative feedback

First, let’s get clear on where you are.

You’re hurt, embarrassed, nervous something is wrong and you might not know how to fix it.

When we feel a lot of feelings, it’s human nature to want to get away from those feelings as fast as we can. It’s why we immediately want to make major changes to our strategy. If we’re being proactive, there’s less time to worry.

But, you also don’t know enough, or have enough data, to really make an informed decision. You shouldn’t be changing right now. Feel your feelings and collect more data. We’ll get into what that looks like in a minute.

Next, get some distance.

Go for a walk, put on some music and dance; start moving so your brain gives over to your body for a few minutes.

How long you do this depends on the feedback. Some requires more time than others. If you return to your desk or look at your phone again, and all the feelings come back, it’s too soon. Don’t rush it, move some more or move onto unrelated things and try again later.

Only then can you process the feedback.

I spoke to a couple clients recently about devising an actual plan they’re sticking to their laptop or writing up in a note they can refer back to when they need it.

If you like lists too (you’re my people), I highly recommend making one for yourself. Basically, it’s the five things you’ll do the moment you’re struck by feedback and feel the familiar worry rising up inside you. When we have strong feelings, having specific steps laid out in front of us help big time.

Here’s what yours can look like:

  1. Go for a walk and don’t come back until your head is clear.

  2. See what was really said. Re-read it or replay it in your mind with as much openness as possible. Parse out what could be useful and what’s triggering, and handle each separately.

  3. Consider all the factors out of your control. Was it a big news day? A holiday? Could these people have had something happen in their lives that would cause their reaction (or lack of one)? Have the seasons changed? Are kids out of school? You get the idea.

  4. Collect the data. What time did you reach them? What was your subject line? How long was your message and how quickly did you get to the point? What were the design elements you were trying for the first time? Don’t change any of these but begin to collect the data about them. When you try the same thing again (3-5 more times!), compare the data. This is all market research.

  5. Reach out to your best customers and happiest clients. If something negative came in, put something positive out there. Contact a few of your favorite people and love on them. Send them a discount, give them a compliment, tell them you were thinking of them and hope they’re happy with your product.

Feedback is part of the work we do and the world we live in.

In most cases, if you can take care of the personal sting and collect the data, you’ll have the perspective you need to stay curious and trust yourself.

You’re already on the right path. Stick with it.

How’s your “new normal”?

If you’re like me, it really depends on the moment.

Sometimes I take my own advice from two weeks ago and brush my teeth, drink water, and text my mom a funny joke to encourage her not to walk around Rite Aid even though she’s bored.

At other times, today for instance, I cried and broke out in hives before noon.

Based on what I’m seeing from others on social media and feeling in my own body, these are stages of grief. Nice that Harvard Business Review agrees. We are collectively grieving change on a level most of us were unprepared for and without an end in sight.

On top of that is having to hold it together for others.

If you let yourself, you can likely feel the burden of other people depending on you for stability, a sense of calm and order, being their shoulder to cry on.

That’s a lot, especially if you don’t have a shoulder for your crying.

As an A student, this time may also bring out your superpowers. You could excel at being thrown into action, managing schedules, comforting loved ones, and working out to one of the many new online classes.

If you’re firing on all cylinders, go you! And if in the quiet moments you also break out in hives, you’re not alone. If you want to talk through either, my calendar is still open for Pep Talks.

More support when you need it:

1) Brave the discomfort. Brené Brown has a new podcast and I already listened to the first episode twice because it’s about this pandemic being a FFT — “F-ing First Time” — for all of us. There’s a relief in naming our collective new territory plus she also offers concrete steps to move through it.

2) Make a to-do list. The first thing that went out the window when changes started? My to-do list. The thing that will save my sanity, and keep me positive and productive? You guessed it. No doubt your to-do list is different in a lot of ways than a month ago, so if you haven’t already (go A students!) make a new one. Decorate it special, choose a new font. The version I offer my mailing list might help.

3) Join me for a Lunch Break on Instagram this Wednesday at 1pm ET. I’m speaking with Stella Yoon of Hudson River Exchange about how we’re navigating this new normal as business owners and what might help you too. Follow her to see when we go live.

4) Choose hope. I listened to a meditation by Oprah and Deepak Chopra on Hope in Uncertain Times, and she quoted Maya Angelou: “Hope and fear can’t occupy the same place. Invite one to stay.” You might need to re-invite hope several times a day, treating it as a form of meditation: choosing hope (for your family, business, health and community), and when your mind wanders choosing hope all over again.

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I believe so much in you, and what’s possible when we lean on each other.