Criticize Me, Please

The problem with gathering useful feedback is that many people are too polite. Show them your half-finished novel, and they will say something like, “I think it is SO amazing that you wrote 150 pages already, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.”

Of course, what they are really thinking is: I didn’t understand anything that happened after page seven.

One way around this challenge is to ask for three criticisms.

There are many ways to phrase this. You could ask someone to identify three things you should consider changing. You could ask them for their three least favorite aspects of the work you did. You might try asking them to identify three things they did not fully understand.

The key is to not be too negative in your request. If you say, “Tell me three things you hated,” most people will say, “I didn’t hate anything, it was good.”

You want to give others a safe space in which they can share their honest assessment without the risk of upsetting you. You accomplish this by phrasing your request in such a way that they have to tell you three things they would do differently.