What does it mean that descriptive language before evaluative language?

Practice describing facts before applying labels like good bad right or wrong.

Example: A teammate pushes code at 4:47 PM on a Friday without running the review checklist. Your first instinct is to say 'that was reckless.' But 'reckless' is an evaluation — it imports motive, character, and judgment into a single word. The descriptive version — 'the deployment occurred at 4:47 PM Friday without the standard review checklist' — preserves the same facts while keeping the conversation open. The evaluative version ends the inquiry. The descriptive version starts it.

Try this: Pick one judgment you made today — about a person, a decision, or an outcome. Write the evaluative version first (the label you applied). Then rewrite it as pure description: only what a camera and microphone would have recorded. Compare the two sentences. Notice what the evaluative version added that wasn't in the raw data.