[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪

Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast

when authors dug stone and Bruce Patton were researching their book, Difficult Conversations.

They asked people what they thought was their most difficult conversation to have

in both their personal lives and in their career.

And time and time again, people pointed to conversations involving feedback.

They didn't like giving it and they especially didn't like receiving it,

even when the feedback was meant to be constructive.

But here's the thing, knowing how to give and receive feedback is essential for

personal and professional growth.

To remedy the discomfort we have with feedback, most books and articles focus on how the

giver of the feedback can take the sting out of his delivery with tactics like the ever-popular

criticism sandwich. But Doug Stone argues that in his latest book,

when it comes to feedback, we should be focusing on how we can be better receivers of it.

So does the author of the book, Thanks for the Feedback, the Science and Art of Receiving

Feedback Well, and today he joins me on the show to discuss why constructive criticism is so

hard to take, as well as brass-tax advice on how you can be less defensive and more open to

the feedback you receive on a daily basis. You want to take notes with this episode?

It's crammed with information that can improve your life, it means a lot.

After the show is over, check out the show notes at aum.is slash feedback.

Doug Stone, welcome to the show.

Great to be here.

...