A fair response to criticism can teach observers more than a page of praise.

How someone answers criticism is watched more closely than what they produce. A calm reply that concedes the accurate part, corrects the rest without heat, and thanks the person for looking tells observers what working with you would be like, and it does so more credibly than praise, because nobody chooses the circumstances of a complaint.

When the next criticism arrives, wait until you can find the true part in it. Answer that first and plainly. Leave the defence of your character out of it, since the response itself is already making the argument.