index

I was listening to Ben Levy (promoting his new book Stop Reading Slides) on the Confessions of a Creative Director podcast, and he shared a beautifully simple approach to handling client criticism—the kind that instantly puts you on the defensive.

Here are his four steps to client nirvana:

One Remember you’re on the same side.

Before every meeting, remind yourself: this is not agency vs. client. They are not the enemy, and your job isn’t to push ideas past a gatekeeper. You’re working towards the same goal.

Two Respond with curiosity, not defence.

When you hear a tough question, don’t rush to justify your thinking—it makes it seem like you weren’t really listening. Instead, ask a question back. Example: if a client says “We’ve done this before”, you might reply with “Oh, how did you execute it?”.

Often, criticism isn’t about the whole concept, just a small element.

Three Re-establish common ground.

After the discussion, highlight all the things you do agree on. Maybe the client doesn’t love the copy, but you both agree on the problem, the strategy, the branding, etc. Reassure everyone you’re not as far apart as it might have felt a few minutes earlier.

Four Know when to stop.

If, after reviewing, it’s clear you’re solving the wrong problem—the strategy is off or the concept is wrong—stop the meeting. The instinct is to push through (“just let me get to the slide where it all makes sense!”). But that’s wasted energy. Pause instead, and revisit how the client saw the brief.

⸻

So next time a client drops one of those awkward “I don’t like it” comments, resist the urge to defend. Throw back a thoughtful question—and keep the conversation on common ground.