Miki’s Rules to Live by: What to Say When
by Miki SaxonPeople are often faced with the quandary of deciding how honest they should be when responding to some version of the classic “does this outfit make me look fat” question.
This Rule serves as a good filter to help you decide how to respond
“Never confuse
telling people what you think
with telling them
what they want to hear.”
That doesn’t mean you should always provide the latter and not rock their/your boat.
Sometimes people really do want to know if the outfit makes them look fat.
The trick is to evaluate the situation in order to decide how to handle it.
Flickr image credit: istolethetv
October 19th, 2012 at 9:59 am
I have issues trying to convince people that I want honest criticism. I get the “make you feel good response” too often & I know there are things that could be better. Of course, there are plenty of times I just want to be made happy.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:09 am
That happens to a lot of us. I’ve found that I can get honest criticism, but if I start “explaining” (AKA defending) at all then from then on I get feel good info. The exceptions are good friends who know me well enough to say “shut up and listen.”
I find the source has a lot to do with whether I listen, defend or ignore what’s being said, whether criticism or fee good.