In Italian culture, offering evaluative feedback is not an imposition—it is an obligation of the relationship. When someone shares their work, their cooking, their ideas, or their decisions, they expect a response. Saying nothing, or offering only vague acknowledgment, signals that you do not care enough to engage.
This means you should actively provide evaluative input: notice specifics, comment on quality, share your genuine assessment. Generic responses like “looks fine” or “no issues” are read as disengagement, not diplomacy. You do not need to manufacture criticism, but you do need to demonstrate that you have paid real attention and formed a real opinion. Specific, engaged feedback—positive or negative—communicates respect and investment. Silence communicates indifference, which in Italian professional culture is a more serious relational failure than honest disagreement.
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