Putting myself in an arrogant position, I can say that most of the time, the opinions I receive are very weak – not that I am an expert or a master on this topic. In fact, I’m not even saying that I’m the best listener. But what I am saying is that people are so uncomfortable giving and receiving that much of the time what they say is no more effective than an everyday comment.

And why is that? Why are people so afraid of opinions? In my opinion it is due to the fact that we tend to categorize opinions into two broad categories: good or bad. If the opinion is positive, everyone is happy and we are okay with that. Despite this, we are afraid to say it because people might become conceited or something and we don’t want that. On the other hand, when the opinion is negative we can hurt someone. It has been proven that negative opinions have a greater impact on the listener than positive opinions.

Like almost everything in life, opinions are also about trust and acceptance. Above all, I believe that there are no good or bad opinions. Opinions are just opinions and we must be willing to give or receive them without becoming resentful or conceited. More than a working tool, opinions move our teams forward while building things that go beyond what is visible and what is productive.

With their help, we become better and learn to be friends with the person next to us. And please notice that I used the word “person” instead of “worker”.

How do I give and receive opinions?

My intention with this blog post is not to teach the art of giving and receiving opinions. Who am I to do such a thing? In fact, my main motivation is to present my opinion on the topic and to question my own thoughts. I’m not expecting to reach any conclusions on my own, but I hope that together we can come close to one. When we get there, we will question ourselves one more time and we will get even closer to something else. We’ll repeat the process until…well, every time.

So when I ask for opinions I usually ask for them, of course. Then I listen. I observe. I try not to justify myself. Depending on the opinion, I don’t argue and ask for some time to reflect on it. I appreciate it.

When I give opinions, these are the things I usually do or at least try to do: I notice if on that day it is comfortable for another person to receive opinions. I ask them if they are available for me to give them my opinions. I try to do it one on one. I listen. I observe. I try to put myself on the other people’s shoes. All humans do what they do for a reason. I try to understand why they did it that way. I say “thank you.”

Now that we are done, I would like to ask your opinion about this blog post. So can you give me your feedback? I thank you in advance!