It’s hard for us not to be judgmental, and very rarely will anybody succeed in avoiding it completely. However, most rash judgments are wrong. If you think about the last time you heard somebody talking about a person that you know, while very well knowing that what you are hearing was either misinterpreted or just wrong.

I recently read a report that was written by psychologists Arnold and Clifford Lazarus. Based on their studies, they noticed that when somebody starts being judgmental, it’s probably best to walk away from the conversation. If you can legitimately come to somebody’s defense, then it’s certainly a goof thing to do. But, when people are judgmental, it’s very unlikely that they are willing to listen to anybody anyway… so you then need to realize that you’re probably wasting your breath.

If an organized discussion devolves into a judgmental talk, whether it’s about somebody in particular, another organization or another organization’s product or service… it is your obligation to redirect the discussion because the conversation is just simply wasting everybody’s time.

Now, on the other hand, there are times when discussing the qualities and values of another organization’s product(s) or service(s) is important. But the discussion needs to stick to the facts– such as how their product s and services have impacted the industry and it’s customers, employees, and/or investors. Things such as “the color of the competitor’s product, how simple it is to maintain, and how it’s value is important” are all ways that can be used to be critical and constructive, so that choosing one of the above mentioned gives you the ability to make an informed decision.

We’ve all been in similar situations where it’s easy to judge. I’m curious to know how you handle these situations. What works best for you?