How to Give Performance Notes

When I was young, I wasn’t great at taking notes. I don’t mean writing down stuff my teachers said (though I wasn’t good at that either). I mean receiving critical feedback on my work.

When someone would try to give me advice for how to do something better my natural reaction was first to ask who they thought they were. Then I’d ask if they even bothered to look at my work before they expressed their ill-thought-out, nonsensical opinion. After that, I’d tell them that if they thought they could do better I’d like to see them try. When the conversation was over I’d go off, sulk, think about what they said, and usually conclude that they had a valid point.

I’m much better at taking notes now. My process is mostly the same, except I’ve learned to speed through the steps as quickly as possible and not to say anything until I reach the “they had a point” phase.

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