Bring On The Feedback Fire

Posted on April 21, 2007 by L
Filed Under The Life |

E, in a moment of acute frustration, came up with what to me is the perfect visual to describe the experience of putting your work out there - you launch it into the world, then step back and crouch with your hands covering your ears and eyes tightly shut.

The shrapnel of feedback is something you could deal with if it meant that it brought some information on how not to get fired at the next time. But when you’re finding your feet, it can be really hard to keep going when all you get is ambiguous negativity.

How to deal? You could spend an evening at a cafe listening to back-to-back riffs from the world’s greatest guitarists and feeling like you can take on the world, no problem. The effects of that don’t last very long though - I am writing this post less than 24 hours since such an evening.

I want to make a best and worst feedback list - share both and hope it applies to someone else as well if they need it:

Worst feedback: On writing - “You should get some more style, read some more magazines.” (this from a sub-editor who approved an article on actors titled ‘The Cellulite Club’ when they meant ‘The Celluloid Club’. It got published like that, and they never got why it was wrong!)

Best feedback: On the art of interviewing - “Make it a conversation” - the sub-text being “not an interrogation.” It might not sound life changing, but if you’ve ever struggled with interviewing anyone, especially a celebrity over the phone half way across the world, you know how this subtle change in tactic makes such a big difference. As a journalist, I am deeply grateful. Thank you E.

Bring on your list of best and worst feedback ever. Let’s try a collective pool of good feedback that you can go to the next time someone looks at your work and just goes, “Nah!”

Currently listening to: K-OS - Atlantis: Hymns For Disco, John Mayer, The Idan Raichel Project
Looking forward to watching: Persepolis

   

Comments

One Response to “Bring On The Feedback Fire”

  1. E on April 21st, 2007 5:19 pm

    I can remember the worst feedback I was ever given: It is always a variation (always from clients) of, “I’m not sure of what I want but this is not it…”

    The best advice I ever got: “Making people laugh is always going to be more popular than making people think.”

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