Recently I had the intriguing experience of listening to an unabashed, full-throated badmouthing, an occurrence I had not witnessed in some time particularly when considering the circumstances.
An ambitious, resourceful entrepreneur who years ago founded a startup was presenting to all who were curious as to how to recover and bounce back when that startup failed, for which the speaker largely blames the target. Initial audience estimation was roughly 20 but early on during the hour-long talk, population more than doubled.
When the featured speaker launched into a pertinent, no-holds-barred excerpt of the presentation, I immediately recognized what was developing before us, even whispering to a friend beside me of concerns about defamation of character. For this reason, I will disclose names of neither the presenter nor the accused.
Attribute my heightened dander to the journalistic angle in that injurious public statements about an individual typically are eligible for increased scrutiny, at minimum. For this reason, when the featured speaker opened the floor, I listened to the first question and the presenter’s answer, then raised my hand to ask about the accused. Stating the target’s name early during my inquiry drew audience murmuring, to include rubbernecking my way and some nervous laughter.
I asked if the target had been subject to law enforcement with hopes that the speaker would take my cue for cover then discuss knowledge of a thievery or fraud investigation at minimum. In a perfect world, such a probe would result in a conviction because once that guilty verdict or plea is adjudicated, the charges are no longer allegations and the target has pushed past being merely an accused defendant.
Consequently, the content of the badmouthing then would be provably true, the perfect offramp for the featured speaker.
However, the speaker responded by stating no knowledge, instead resuming with more bold critique while noting having sent an email to the target on the day that marked the betrayal’s 10-year anniversary.
Amid professional pursuits, the objective is to explore ways of merging efforts and collaboration for both parties’ forward advancement while keeping interaction on the up-and-up. For this reason, badmouthing raises my eyebrows. I recall listening to sharp criticism of editors, fellow reporters, newspapers and companies, always remembering wise advice from journalism school: one who confides criticism of another to you will criticize you to others.
In this case, my opinion is the featured speaker was primarily geared toward helping others avoid pitfalls and hard times like collapse yet capitalized on an opportunity to clarify where the burden of blame belonged.