Feedback can be hard. First, drumming up the courage to ask for it. Then actually listening to it without taking it personally. And perhaps hardest of all: sifting through conflicting feedback to know what to listen to, and what to ignore.
I was reminded of this recently. Over the last couple weeks I’ve been building a new site MatthewTrinetti.com to act as a resumé to showcase my work and experience. After getting it to a “good enough” place, I started asking for feedback from a handful of friends, colleagues, family and past clients.
Basically I wanted to know – does this site clearly explain what I do and how I can help you, your team, or company? Is it easy to navigate? What’s missing?
Then…the feedback came. It’s still coming. Some recurring. Some conflicting. How to navigate it all?
Here’s a tip from novelist Neil Gaiman on writing, but I think it applies to any feedback:
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
Listen when people say they don’t get it or it “doesn’t work for them.” If they’re the reader, the customer, the client – they’re right.
Read Gaiman’s full list: Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing
***
