Steveer Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys' quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

When I was a kid, the other kids cared. I would walk into the room and they would say things like,

you're ugly and what are you, some kind of space alien?

Their helpful feedback led me to buy some nose hair clippers, get a haircut, and spend 60 grand on therapy for my alien abduction issues.

My therapist says I'm the first one whose delusions are from the alien point of view.

Hmm.

Now, I'm sure this has happened to you.

Your boss gives you helpful feedback. Your report looks

like it was typed by a monkey, or, gee, that outfit makes you look so attractive, for a change.

It feels horrible. Here's the thing. People take lessons in how to give feedback. You sandwich

the criticism between two compliments.

It's a horrible technique. All this feedback sandwich does is train people to hear a compliment

and wait for the other shoe to drop. This episode's transcript links to an article on a better way

to give feedback. Giving feedback is only half the equation. There are two problems with

giving good feedback. First, you go to all that effort, gently give someone the feedback, and they show

up the next day with a semi-automatic rifle and take you out. All that effort, wasted. Plus,

psychotically violent employees notwithstanding, giving feedback feels great. It's receiving

that sucks. Today's tip is to hear criticism, however it's given. Your life will be way better.

Trust me. First, feel it. Use defensiveness as your signal. Say you find yourself jumping up and down, clenching your

fists and yelling, me, a fake, I knew the whole time your shoes weren't real, Prada. When you're

reduced to insulting footwear, it's a sign. You're being defensive. But a moment earlier,

you could feel it. You felt a tact. Maybe you tighten your chest, squint slightly and tense up.

...