The Power of Listening to Criticism
in the age of communication
everyone loves to talk just as tedx
is also an opportunity a stage for
people who love to express themselves
but how much value this stage has
depends on you
the audience the listener so
listen to me i come from china and i’m
very fortunate to have the chance to
learn abroad
and receive a diverse education in my
opinion
intercultural communication is my social
responsibility
as an international student it allows
people in the
global village to understand each other
better and bring people
closer however cultural exchange
is never the same as cultural output
speaking alone
not listening does not constitute
communication
i have come to germany to attend high
school for more than one year
both in and out of school i often hear
discussions about china
with its rapid development china is
often praised
and complemented but more often it is
criticized
and questioned like me
many chinese students are really
concerned about other people’s views on
china
because chinese people want to be
friends with people from all over the
world
faced with doubts and criticisms
gradually i found that
rather than rushing to respond to these
opinions or
argue immediately with some racists
quietly listening to criticism first
makes me more powerful
after listening to criticism i began to
reflect on myself
having looked at many media reports i
realized that
china’s environmental pollution is a
real and major problem
for instance although in my hometown
nanjing
there are already regulations on with
sorting not everyone is aware of it or
realizes the necessity of this policy
i began to examine whether i had done a
good job
of switch sorting all the time and try
my best
to improve the environmental protection
i know that as far as i am concerned in
the bigger picture
nothing can be changed immediately it
takes time
for the accumulation of knowledge which
does not happen overnight
in order to develop economy
phenomena such as environmental
pollution are almost unavailable
but just because it happened in the past
does not mean that we have not
progressed
nor does it mean that we cannot change
it in the future
self-reflection brings changes
ignoring the problem at hand simply
blinds people
to reality criticism
on the other hand can bring people to
progress
a truly civilized nation always listens
to criticism
and strives to improve itself whether
rich or poor
socrates said the unexamined life is not
worth living
this applies not only to individuals
but to countries as well at the
beginning of my studies abroad
i failed to understand why certain
stereotypes of china
persist how should i react to them
after pondering i came to understand
that the history of china
cannot be changed and should not be
erased the things
that more than chinese people should do
is to turn criticism into
motivation and redouble our efforts to
improve ourselves
and say no to unfair criticisms
behind our generation of international
students a group of ordinary parents
who recognize the importance of
education
instead of cradling children in their
arms to for the sake of their own
happiness
they try their best to provide children
a chance to see the world
therefore we carry the expectations of
our parents
absorbing the knowledge and culture from
different countries
presenting the face of the east to the
world while at the same time
suffering loneliness and even
discrimination
when we encounter criticism we should
first listen
and then try harder to improve
i know that efforts do not necessarily
mean success
of changing stereotypes however
changing bad impression is impossible
without hard work
so that we need to try a little bit
harder
we can not only fight against
discrimination after listening to them
without listening to criticism we are
even not
know that some critical comments are
actually discriminatory
so that we won’t stand up and fight
against it
criticism can also lead to us lead us to
a mutual understanding
let me share with you my experience in a
host family
during the holiday at lunch my
co-host mother asked me about eating
habits in china
looking at cold bread and potato salad i
said that
chinese people always eat eat one food
for three meals a day
she was shocked and bluntly commented
that
this was a waste of time afterwards
when she finished her meal and brought
the best
basket back to the kitchen i overheard
her say
making one meal requires hours
is there really nothing else to do
better than cook all day long in the
kitchen
moreover based on her recent visit to a
chinese restaurant in germany
she also expressed that chinese food a
pile
of high heavy seasonings
and unhealthy food in order to change
her
subjective evaluation i vividly
described my favorite chinese food
but this didn’t seem changed her mind
all i saw was an
awkward but polite smile
with doubts about chinese food i decided
to cook
for my host family even though i didn’t
have
extensive experience in the kitchen at
home i went to asian supermarket to buy
some ingredients
called my grandma to consult cooking
methods and also follow some online
cooking tutorials
one evening i made quickly a few dishes
for the host family
after the meal my host mother said to me
that
she not only thought that chinese food
was pretty delicious
but also felt the enthusiasm and warmth
of chinese people
through the food having faced doubts
about chinese food
i strengthened the communication with my
host family
from another perspective these
criticisms and doubts are also a warning
for me
as the most influential chinese
philosopher confucius said
don’t do unto others what you don’t want
others to do unto you
since i really suffered this unpleasant
frustration after being criticized
i’m more tolerant and respectful of a
variety of
traditions before spouting critical
or iran ironic comments i try to seek
the truth
and know more first an international
family like salem
with students from about 40 countries
listening to how people from different
cultural social
and political backgrounds see the world
even if it is super critical
always gives me a special perspective
and a different way of thinking
so students like me listen to criticism
and learn from them on the other hand
having experienced such injustice
i also want to encourage everybody to
think twice before criticizing others
last year in february i did an
internship in heidelberg
it was almost a perfect time except one
thing
one weekend as i was walking along the
naca
i met three teenagers they approached me
and shouted
your chronovirus get out of our country
the fact is tolerance is not justice
it isn’t a sufficient description of the
world we want
racists listen to unfair criticism of
yourself
i’m certain that you will feel very
uncomfortable so stop discriminating
your ex really hurt a lot of people
since last year the coronavirus pandemic
influences everybody’s life hopefully
the criticism that the epidemic has
generated all around the world
accelerates the pace of improving
medical systems
and shows social governance the severe
epidemic that the world is experiencing
will eventually be history i hope that
when future generations look back on
today
they are able to praise us that we did
not stop at the face of complaining
we are not defeated by the setbacks
instead of that
all of us break the boundaries of
nations religions and so on
we come together to listen to criticism
and learn from bad experience from the
last year
so that we can improve measures and do
our utmost
to prevent further spread of the virus
i also sincerely wish that this outbreak
will serve as a warning to the world
to avoid similar disasters in the future
dealing with criticism positively is an
important life skill
the first step of dealing with it is
listening
let’s listen to criticism and have power
i
wish all of you all the best and have a
better year than the last one
thank you