Today’s topic is very important to me. It’s about evaluating and judging. As a Toastmaster, I am used to listening to speeches and then evaluating them. I listen to the speech in calm, analyze what is good about it and make suggestions for improvement. As an judge in dance sport, my role is somewhat different. Here, my task is simply to judge which couple is better than the other. Suggestions for improvement are rarely necessary here.
Please pay attention to how you give feedback and what you do with the feedback.
1. please only give feedback if it is wanted.
Do not force it on anyone. If a person gives you unwanted feedback, who is the feedback for? For you or for the person giving you the feedback? Think about it.
2. give constructive feedback
When you give feedback, it should be useful for the other person. It’s so easy to talk something down. If you look, you’ll always find something negative. Statements like “she didn’t even go to university” or “he’s only influenced by lobbyists” are pure populism and don’t add any value. These are slogans for when you run out of arguments. When it comes to speech evaluations, I often hear. “You could move more on stage.” Why? is that always necessary? certainly not.
3. start without judging
“If you look long enough, you’ll find a fly in the soup. But what’s left of the delicious soup?”
When I rehearse a new show as a comedy entertainer, I consciously try to completely switch off my inner judge and evaluator and just spin around creatively. In the beginning, it doesn’t matter whether it makes sense, is funny or not. The creative process should be weird and crazy. How often did I hear right at the beginning: “That can’t work.” If I had always taken this approach, nothing would have worked for me.
It’s not without reason that we in Germany have slipped further down the rankings in the World Happiness Report. We search far too much, where could there still be a problem? What can’t work yet? Out of sheer fear of making mistakes, we prefer to do nothing at all. And then what happens? Exactly – nothing at all.
When the iPhone came onto the market, it was full of bugs. Steve Jobs was not allowed to open certain menus at the launch, otherwise it would have crashed. It was launched anyway and systematically optimized. If Steve Jobs hadn’t believed in it, it would never have become such a great success.
Finally, here is my last piece of advice: sometimes just enjoy without judging. How often do I see dance couples who don’t dance perfectly but are incredibly enjoyable to watch? Why? Because they do it with passion and dedication. Age doesn’t matter at all here.
It doesn’t always have to be bigger, higher or further. It can also just be fun because you enjoy doing something.
If we have a hobby, it’s because we enjoy doing something. We don’t necessarily have to do it well. We do it because we enjoy it. And that’s why it’s our hobby.
Have fun!