If you feel praising in public is the only way (i.e. criticism should always take place privately), you likely were given too many participation trophies as a child

I'd be curious to hear what makes you think that.

Aren't expectations around feedback mostly cultural? For example, people from Germany can be very direct/upfront/candid, while people from the US prefer balancing positive and negative points.

https://erinmeyer.com/books/the-culture-map/ has some good examples and a framework for thinking about these issues.

I like running, poker and oysters | Founder, Social Forensics (SocialForensics.com) | Berkeley & UPenn | Learning to listen