Writing text is difficult. From simple to complex, it looks like: start, finish to the end, show people, do not kill those who will comment on the final version. And in this article I want to give a couple of recipes how to prepare for feedback, cope with anger and try to answer the critics correctly and constructively.
Since 2011, the list of recipes is updated as I gain new experience. In the latest edition (April 2018), 7 simple points that work for me universally for a sports blog, articles on professional topics and a large message in the messenger. Some of them will be given examples from real practice. In the same place, where examples will not be - a field for imagination reading.
1)
“Prepare sleds in summer”. It is also necessary at the time of writing to notice for yourself the critical moments of the text, which can cause discontent among the reader. Comments can be written as adequate people, and "experts in the field of all things."
The former read in order to obtain new information and may catch on, for example, to the definitions that you give yourself, without referring to sources or to controversial hypotheses for which there is not sufficient evidence. We need an honest and open answer, why you wrote the way you wrote. But for the second type of commenting on the trigger can be everything that concerns and does not concern the original topic. They most often have no real competence. Comments of such people - spam, which does not require an answer.
Do not try to initially change the written in order to reduce the heat of "potential" comments. But it is necessary to understand that in certain parts of the text there will be discrepancies, tied to the difference in the personal experience of the writer and the reader. This is necessary to reduce the degree of their own reaction to a frank negative.
An example of a constructive remark: “ Comment on terminology: the author equates QA, testing and QC (quality control) with each other, uses them as synonyms, and makes inconsistent, contradictory statements.”
An honest answer to the inconvenient, but constructive remark: I know the difference between QA and QC. But in the early stages of a career, rarely does anyone wonder about this difference. That sometimes an experienced person might have a dissonance, I thought at the time of writing, but could not find a quick solution how to correct the situation.
An example of a non-constructive remark: “There are many abstract, unconfirmed statements in the text.”
The commentator throws in an abstract, unconfirmed comment that, from his point of view, is abstract. The answer to this is not required.2)
"Cool fuck." Do not write the answer in the same second as received a negative or overtly toxic review. Think about it. Beat the pear. Shout into space. The worst thing that can be done in response to the negative is to respond to it immediately, when the veil from the desire to implant the head of the commentator on the peak is still very strong. Regret for such a response, as a rule, will come very quickly, and the consequences can be the most deplorable. Not only is there no confidence in the author of the article who, in response to comments, writes to what place all disgruntled people need to shove their opinions. So also in attempts to respond with destructiveness to destructiveness, you will enter the territory of your opponent. And there the advantage will not be on your side. But the biggest disadvantage is the risk of receiving less feedback. For example, I myself have no desire to paint something critical to a person who is not able to control himself.
An example of a “destructive” comment: “I do not care for the fact that a 20-year-old greyhound puppy is here boiling water. Personally, I never gab, if something I do not know. And besides rudeness and idiotic ridicule like yours and some more scumbags here and nothing to expect. ”
An example of a “destructive” answer: “Your behavior and constant attempts to impose your own half-crazy opinion on everyone, make me seriously doubt that you should pay attention to anything at all. All the scumbags, puppies, no one understands you, only you know Zen. Time after time you try to prove that everyone is wrong, but you are right. It does not happen. ”
This example shows that in 2014 I had not yet fully formed and understood the importance of the rules for receiving feedback. I got involved in an aggressive discussion that stretched over 10 comments with mutual insults. Constructive feedback in the end did not arrive. All incoming users simply occupied someone's side in the conflict, paying little attention to the text.3)
"Okay, google." If someone comments in the comments with obscure or controversial facts that you are not sure about, do not hesitate to search and check them. Also, there is an option to ask the commenting source of information and make sure that he is right or, on the contrary, to admit an error. Pulling yourself an expert relying only on logic and memory is the best option to spoil your impression.
4)
"Love your neighbor." There is feedback, in which there is a direct or indirect insult. You can simply ignore it. And some resources even provide an opportunity not to publish or delete such reviews. But if you decide to go on the warpath, then try not to beat your opponent with your best insult right in the forehead. Let the person understand that they have captured the essence of what he has said, but emphasize that such comments are not a sign of a great mind. Most people on large resources, especially technical ones, and without you, understand this and write down “insulting” into the category of holy fools. Just help as many people as possible do this.
5)
"Listen to everyone - do it your way." This item appeared one of the last. And if it is deciphered, it is only about how bad it is to indiscriminately follow every piece of advice from people who review your text. My last article, while respecting the lion's share of the edits that were issued to me, changed the topic 4 times, was reduced by 2 times by 1-2 pages and received at least 3 times more than a page of text. And by corrections, I mean not only real reviewers, but also such sources as “Write, Reduce” and the site “Glavred” (
glvrd.ru ). I do not urge to refuse advice from the outside. But you should always keep in mind what your text is about and why you write it. Deviating from the planned you can lose all descriptions, examples, or break the overall structure of the material. What you certainly remember readers. The moral is simple - you need to filter comments not only after, but also while writing the article.
An example of a comment about a lost meaning: “Stop, is that all? Have you listed the problems that your familiar testing process faces, just like that? Won't you reveal what the point about release and feature testing, automation, meant? What was it?"
It is a perfectly fair remark, which indicates that in an impulse to shorten the text and remove all of it, from the point of view of the reviewers “water,” I missed a number of important explanations. Do not do it this way.6)
“My own fault!”. It is worth assessing the skill level of the commentator and the level to which you wrote. If the senor assesses an article written for juniors as a text in which he personally did not recognize anything new, then nothing terrible happened. The man did not get into his niche and got what he deserved - time spent. At your own expense such claims should not be taken.
7)
“Tastes differ.” The most garbage claim, which does not feature a direct insult, is a nagging to the style of writing or speech turns in the comments to the already prepared and published article. Ignore it. Because tastes are the most subjective that can be. And the reader’s deceived expectations in this case are exclusively his problem. It is impossible to please everyone. It is quite enough to write a verified text in which the extra momentum is removed to the maximum and break it according to your own idea. Because everything else will come with experience, and, of course, personal. Other design skills will not help to become better yourself.
Example garbage claims: “I would remove everything that does not concern the main topic. And all the enthusiastic turnovers removed. It is better to cut the text by 2 times to save all normal people time. If someone does not know something, then let him search on the Internet ”Receiving and filtering feedback is no less important part of working with an article than writing it directly. Each comment can help to become better already when working on the following text or analyzing subsequent reviews. Even in the most vicious stream of consciousness, written by a man who had an unlucky day and who tried to thwart his anger on you, you can find food for the mind. Another question is that you need to set yourself a goal to find it. Anger, resentment, and a desire to respond to an unpleasant feedback by the guard in the face are normal human desires. But they will not help either to find a rational seed in the tares of comments, or to improve their skills. And the ability to respond to toxic feedback begins at the time of this writing. I shared my life hacks, which are by no means the ultimate truth or panacea. I will be glad to learn about your ideas, how best to prepare for receiving and analyzing feedback.
