What Is the Difference Between Slander and Criticism?

Slander is the lack of a correct justification for something that was said.

In such a case, it is necessary to scrutinize the matter by raising it to a public judgment. In general, that is the difference between slander and criticism.

It is very difficult to verify the intention with which someone speaks about another person. We cannot check ourselves. Thus, we should be very cautious, even afraid, to open our mouths about another person, even if we think that it is only criticism on our part.

If we take a work team as an example, people often discuss certain coworkers because of their actions or personality. Is such conduct slander or not?

In such a case, slander is an expression of a negative opinion about someone who is absent. However, it is not slander if we discuss a coworker at work with our manager and emphasize that their qualities are unsuitable for their function.

Slander is a general term that must robe in specific actions and somehow become expressed. In the coworker example, if we merely speak about someone because we have nothing else to do, then such talk is gossip or slander, but it is not the case if we give objective feedback about their abilities and functions.