Negative feedback is a natural part of working in almost any job. Whether you’re giving or receiving feedback, it’s inevitable that there will be some negative moments. 

This doesn’t mean that you should avoid giving or receiving feedback altogether; after all, the goal of both giving and receiving feedback is to help each other grow as professionals. 

However, the fact remains that negative feedback can be a stressful experience for workers at any level of experience. 

Fortunately, there are ways to handle negative feedback with confidence so that it doesn’t have a lasting effect on your self-esteem. If you’ve ever given anyone negative feedback before, you know how challenging it can be for them to hear what you have to say. 

They might not take it well and may even try to push back against what you’re saying or get defensive about it.

Understand that it’s not about you

This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when receiving negative feedback. 

Whatever feedback your manager or coworker is giving you is not about you as a person; it’s about your actions, the work you produce, or the way you communicate with others. When you receive negative feedback, it can be easy to take it personally. 

You might feel like it’s a reflection on you as a person and that it means that you aren’t good enough. 

However, this isn’t the case. Instead, negative feedback is an opportunity to improve the way you do your job and show that you’re ready to grow into a more effective and productive member of the team.

Take a moment to calm down

If you’re receiving negative feedback, try to take a deep breath and calm yourself down. 

When you’re receiving negative feedback, you might feel attacked, defensive, and like you’re under attack, so this is an important step to keeping your emotions in check. 

As soon as you feel yourself responding to the feedback in a defensive way, try to take a deep breath and take a moment to calm yourself down. 

If you’re on the giving side of things, try to remain calm as well. 

Try to avoid being overly critical or attacking your coworker or employee. 

This is especially true when giving negative feedback to an employee; you want to avoid being overly critical and instead provide constructive feedback that will help your employee improve.

Focus on the feedback and nothing else

When you have to handle criticism, try to focus on the feedback itself and not on the person giving it to you. 

This is easier said than done, especially if you’re feeling defensive or attacked by the feedback, but it’s an important step to receiving negative feedback well. 

When you’re receiving negative feedback, you might find yourself getting defensive or angry. You might feel like the person giving you feedback is attacking you or that the feedback is unwarranted. 

However, if you’re able to focus on the feedback itself, you’ll find that it’s easier to receive and it doesn’t have the same effect.

Don’t take it personally

When you’re receiving negative feedback, try not to take it personally. 

Again, the feedback isn’t about you as a person; it’s about the way you do your job or communicate with others. You might find it hard to not take feedback personally, especially if it’s critical, but this is an important step toward receiving negative feedback well. 

When you take negative feedback personally, you’ll find yourself getting defensive or angry. You might feel like the person giving you the feedback is attacking you or that the feedback is unwarranted. 

However, if you don’t take it personally, it’s much easier to receive the feedback without getting defensive.

Check out this interesting Forbes article to understand more about this topic : 6 ways to respond to mean-spirited criticism (and maintain your self-respect)