It’s easy to respond defensively when someone comes to you with criticism! But that’s not what the people of Ninveh did when Yonah showed up prophesying their destruction. They did an impressive job of listening to Yonah’s criticism and using it to improve themselves.
What is constructive feedback?
- Giving feedback in a helpful way, not just being mean. Criticism is “Hi, I hate your shirt.” Constructive criticism is “Maybe you could try this next time.”
- You might be giving a suggestion rather than just saying “hey, this is bad!”
- Constructive feedback is letting people be themselves and helping them do that.
How can we take and incorporate feedback and criticism?
- I take feedback from people that I trust, and don’t listen to people I don’t trust.
- Sometimes I take the feedback because I have to, but I’ll complain about it later.
- When you grow up and you’re an adult and you get a job, you experience negative and positive feedback every day, so you have to practice taking in criticism before that.
- You can say “okay, I’ll take that into consideration” and think about what they said, even if you don’t end up taking the feedback.
How can hearing feedback help us to be better people and better artists?
- It helps us know what people like about art so that we can make sure people enjoy it.
- If you’re making a present for someone, you should take feedback from people who know that person well so you can make sure they like it.
- Art should feel personal to the creator and the people who look at it. It can represent something to you and something completely different to another person.
Taking feedback to heart gives us an opportunity to improve ourselves or our work and try again. Let’s dig into the second chances that come up in Yonah’s story.