Episode 11: How to Make Criticism Your Friend (The Psychology Of Taking Direction) 

Voice actors receive more real-time feedback than almost any other profession, but this constant direction doesn't just make us better performers—it prepares us for every area of life where feedback matters. Which is pretty much everywhere.

In this episode of "Conversational with Carrie Olsen," I explore the psychology of taking direction and why it matters for your voice acting career and beyond. You'll discover how to transform feedback from a threat into collaboration while staying authentic to who you are.

Episode Highlights:

• Rapid Emotional Regulation - How to reset your emotional state in real time when receiving feedback (03:51)
• Empathetic Understanding - Learning to see feedback from the client's perspective and understanding their true needs (04:42)
• Implementation Without Ego - Separating your creative choices from your identity to serve the project's success (05:35)
• The Mindset Foundation - Three essential mental frameworks that transform how you receive direction (06:42)
• The Two-Second Reset - A practical technique for approaching feedback as collaboration rather than criticism (13:19)

3 Key Takeaways

1. Develop Rapid Emotional Regulation Skills

When feedback arrives, you can't spend five minutes processing your feelings about it. Voice actors learn to instantly reframe feedback as information rather than judgment through cognitive reappraisal. This skill of maintaining a calm face, voice, and body when receiving correction transfers to every relationship and professional situation.

2. Practice Empathetic Implementation

Understanding what the client really needs goes beyond following instructions—it requires stepping into their perspective. When someone says "we need more energy," they might actually mean "this sounds too corporate for our brand." This empathetic skill helps you serve others' needs in business, relationships, and team collaboration.

3. Implement First, Evaluate Later

Resist the urge to immediately analyze why a suggestion won't work. Often what sounds wrong in theory feels right in practice. Try the "yes, and" approach from improv—internalize the feedback, work your magic to turn it into output, then deliver having integrated the direction.

My Perspective

I've been working on taking direction better from my husband Derek, who works in our business with me. I realized I was treating his input like criticism instead of collaboration, getting defensive about things that weren't even criticisms. Voice acting taught me that when everyone has the same goal—whether it's a successful project, business, or family—all feedback is just constructive collaboration.

What's Coming Next..

Next week, we'll explore how to maintain your creative flow while implementing direction, including specific techniques for staying connected to your material even when feedback feels challenging.

Action Step: The Two-Second Reset Exercise

Pick one relationship or work context where you typically struggle with feedback. Before responding to any direction from this person, pause for two seconds and reset your emotional state. Then practice clarifying the goal by asking "What outcome are you looking for?" Finally, try implementing the suggestion first before evaluating whether it will work.

Text VOICE to 55444 to get additional resources for practicing feedback integration skills, including voice acting techniques that transfer to other areas of life.

Resources Mentioned

• Harvard Business Review research on feedback avoidance
• Dr. Matthew Lieberman's UCLA research on criticism and brain response
• CarrieOlsenVO.com/taking-direction for additional resources

Connect With Me

• Follow me on Instagram @carrieolsenvo

• Text VOICE to 55444 for my free resources
• Leave me a voice message to let me know what you thought of the episode 

Subscribe & Review

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us reach more people who need these conversations about authenticity and finding their voice. 🎙

Thanks for tuning in to Conversational with Carrie Olsen! See you next week!