(SWIGPR) - Over the past 25 years of working in wine PR and media relations it has been extremely rare that I have had to advise a client, “don’t respond” or “craft a careful response” to an attack or criticism leveled at them. The fact is, the vast majority of folks working in and around he wine industry simply don’t come in for the kind of public criticisms or attacks that participants in other industries must suffer. And yet, in those few instances when I have had to advise a client whether (or how) to respond to a public attack on their work or integrity, it has always been a most difficult conversation.

What follows is a way of thinking about a response to criticism or attacks if you or your organization find yourself the object of either.

SUBSTANCE
Public criticism or attacks on a person or organization can be either legitimate or illegitimate. They can be warranted or unwarranted. They can be meant in good faith or bad. The first thing you must do is determine under which of these headings the criticism/attack falls. This is very difficult to do because it requires you step back and evaluate yourself or your work. Oftentimes it’s best to lean on an adviser, consultant or friend to help work though this.

If you can determine that the criticism/attack is legitimate, warranted and offered in good faith, then it is probably a good idea to respond. Whether you respond in a public forum or privately is another question altogether. Additionally, you will want to evaluate the impact your public or private response will have on you and/or your business. Try to remember that legitimate criticisms leveled in good faith can be a gift, no matter how difficult reading  or hearing them may be.

If on the other hand it is clear that the attack is illegitimate and unwarranted, leveled without good faith, mean-spirited, perhaps the result of envy or jealousy, potentially libelous, personal or simply delivered without good faith, then it is almost always a good idea to move on, not respond and try to practice the art of empathy for those who are likely bedeviled by issues profoundly personal.

However, if a personal an illegitimate attack is leveled in a forum that will attract the attention of a large number of peers or a large audience, then you may find yourself in a position where a well-crafted response is a necessity if only because lack of a response might result in the initial insult damaging your reputation or because you want to dissuade other troubled people from embarking on the same kind of libel in the future.