It’s easy to let one or two negative comments overshadow a mountain of positive feedback. Whether you’re presenting work, delivering a service, or sharing ideas, that single critical remark can feel louder than all the praise combined. But when we focus too heavily on outliers, we risk distorting our perception and undervaluing the progress we’ve made.
Leaine Jones, Smart Books founder, experienced this after workshop feedback was provided. All but one comment was very positive. And that one negative comment leapt right off the page! Leaine was disappointed and then took some time to evaluate it. When she stepped back and looked at the full picture, the majority of feedback was encouraging, thoughtful, and even enthusiastic. That shift in perspective changed everything.
The key is to approach feedback with an evaluative mindset. Not all criticism is created equal—some is constructive, some is circumstantial, and some may simply reflect personal taste. By asking ourselves whether the feedback is consistent, actionable, and relevant, we can extract value without letting it derail our confidence. This doesn’t mean ignoring criticism—it means putting it in context and using it as a tool for growth.
All feedback is useful. Often suggestions and questions that are different to what you expect have merit – their perspective may have highlighted an issue or a problem that everyone else has glossed over. It is easy to be over-enthusiastic and not fully consider pros- and cons. Sometimes though, the person providing unfavourable feedback may be having a bad day or simply differ in their opinion or have had a different expectation to what was provided.
Say thank you! People who take the time to provide constructive feedback with alternative options are worth listening to. Have some good questions to discuss further to get more clarification. Here’s some ideas:
“Can you share an example of where you felt things could have been better aligned?”
“What impact did that aspect have on your overall impression?”
“What would you consider doing differently in a similar situation?”
So next time you receive feedback, pause and take a breath before reacting. Celebrate what’s working, learn from what’s useful, and let go of what doesn’t serve you. Faulty feedback isn’t about the feedback itself—it’s about how we choose to interpret it. And when we focus on the full picture, we give ourselves confidence to keep moving forward.
Final words from Leaine – she acknowledged she could have done better to appeal to a wider audience, has revised for next time, and responded in a positive way – with a thank you. Oh – and one of the people with positive feedback booked a business workshop!
“It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it, analyze it and appropriately act on it.”
Steve Covey – Business author
