People who earn black belts in karate get there by being grateful for each kick that lands them on the floor. They scramble to their feet, bow, and say, “Thank you!” to their opponent.
When I first witnessed that, I knew I had to make an immediate change in how my public speaking students responded to feedback. Instead of explanations, defensiveness, or justification, gratitude was in order.
When you simply say, “Thank you” to feedback, the feedback has a chance to be absorbed. You then have three choices: Keep it, question it, or throw it away. But you can do none of these if the feedback doesn’t get in.
You might benefit by implementing feedback about your volume, rate of speech, duration of eye contact, willingness to think before responding to questions, and much, much more.
Feedback is the breakfast of champions.
