How to defend your opinion without getting defensive

Do you get upset when someone criticizes your opinion? Do you always defend your opinion in an angry and defensive way?

You are likely to defend your idea, since this is what you believe in. When someone criticizes your idea, you need to defend without exaggeration and without being defensive. If you defend your idea, opinion, or belief in a defensive and an angry way, you are likely to get criticized more by the others. When you defend your idea in a defensive way, you will seem like you are attacking others.

If your goal is to learn how to defend your idea without getting defensive, follow the below steps:

1. Be prepared

When you say an opinion or propose an idea, know that there are some people who will not understand it. Be prepared that some will not agree with your idea. Prepare to answer all the questions that you think people will ask or object about. When you are prepared, you won’t overreact when you answer.

2. Thank your critics

Thank the critics and the people for their criticism and feedback. When you thank your critics, this behavior will show that you are strong and that you didn’t get affected by their criticism even if it was unconstructive.

3. Practice

To be able to communicate with others without getting defensive, you need to practice with your close friends before you present your idea. Make your friends ask you as many questions as possible, so you will be well prepared when you present your idea to people. The more you practice, the better you will become at handling criticism.

4. Control your body language

Work on relaxing your facial muscles and smile, so you won’t show the anger on your face. When you smile, this will tend to make the debate less tense. You can’t control others, but you can control yourself, so you look as a leader in front of your oppositions.

5. Accept the criticism

Know that everyone has different opinion and beliefs. Everyone has a different look at situations, so learn to accept and appreciate that about people