Why Can't Good Enough Just Be Good Enough?

            The scenarios: you are told to give a presentation for class; you are being evaluated on your performance at work; you are performing your rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins” that you have personally arranged for one violin.

            The performances: you give a good presentation that effectively communicates your point while engaging your audience; you successfully and professionally complete your work task while utilizing time efficiently; you artistically capture the spirit of two violins playing harmoniously on a single instrument.

            The results: in every case, you are told your performance was good and then are given “constructive criticism” on how it could have been better.

            Don’t get me wrong, constructive criticism is important, particularly when your performance is subpar. Or perhaps, the performer is dissatisfied with their own level of performance and requests your feedback so they can incorporate that into their own, already constructed, plan of improvement. My constructive criticism of our society so obsessed with perfection, is to sometimes leave well enough alone. Say, “hey, that was really good.” Notice the period at the end of that sentence. There is no “comma but.” Why can’t good enough, sometimes just be good enough? I liked your presentation, you may have a seat now, who is next? This constant push for improvement belittles our successes. Not only that, constructive criticism is rarely constructive. You can tell me that my concerto lacked soul, but that is just vagueness packaged as a comment. You can tell me that you think my tempo in the allegro movement of the concerto was inadequate to properly express the intended mood and contrast the previous movement. While such a criticism is indeed specific and workable, it is useless if I happen to find a quicker tempo detrimental to the development of unique timbre.

            Improvement comes with time and practice, and beginners thrive on advice, but there is a shift that comes later. Someone who is already adept at a skill learns through others, not by way of comments, but observation, implementation, and self-correction. If you want someone to give better presentations, don’t tell them they could have used more eye contact. Have them watch renowned presentations; have them give more presentations; have them watch their own presentations. They will see what worked and what can be improved. If you want to give a great presentation next time do it four times before your actual performance. Try your jokes out on a friend and see what flops before you are on stage. You don't need them to tell you if your joke was good, just see if they laugh. Also realize, you will probably never be giving a TED talk, so if you can keep an audience off of their phones for ten minutes, your presentation was probably good enough.

            -AMS