Tell Me Honestly What Do You Think…

After you have been online for some time there will come a time when people begin to ask for your opinion on their work.

They might want to know what you think of their blog, splash page, website, ebook, logo, latest email, CTP badge collection or just about anything else for that matter.

When this happens then you will discover that this is something akin to walking over hot coals.

Here is a quick guide to help you step carefully so that you emerge at the other side relatively unscathed.

• Any time you hear anybody ask for your opinion the very last thing you should do is immediately launch into your opinion on the matter in hand. Absolutely don’t do this.

• The first thing to do is to work out what you are being asked. Your honest opinion is certainly one possibility, the obvious possibility you might think, but this may not be the case. For example it is much more likely that you are being asked to massage someone’s ego.

• Only venture to offer your honest opinion if you are absolutely sure that this is what is being required…and, even then, tone down what you really think.

• Otherwise say that the item in question is almost perfect in every way and you only wish you had the skills, intelligence and presence of mind to come up with something even a tenth as good.

• If you feel the need to be critical then find the most insignificant, minor detail that you could think of improving and say something like: “The only thing I could possibly even begin to suggest is the merest hint of a distant possibility, that you may like to consider making the headline font a tiny bit smaller/bigger in order to fully compliment the rest of your totally awesome and outstanding design.”

OK so this blog post is more than a little tongue in cheek but the Plus 1 to take home is that many people online (and offline for that matter) are rather thin-skinned and don’t take criticism at all well.

You should probably keep your honest opinion to those you know well and who know value what you have to say. For the others then the handy guide above may prove useful.