Critical feedback in Brazil happens in private. If you need to tell a Brazilian colleague that something is not working, you do not do it in a meeting, in an email copied to others, or anywhere their performance issues become visible to the group. You find a private moment—a one-on-one conversation, a quiet word after a meeting, a coffee away from others. Public criticism causes vergonha—a deep shame that damages the person’s standing and damages your relationship with them, potentially permanently.
The content of the feedback can be just as direct and substantive in private; it is the public exposure that must be avoided. Brazilians extend this same courtesy to you: if they have difficult feedback, they will look for private moments to deliver it. Watch for invitations to talk one-on-one; that may be when the real evaluation arrives.
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