It seemed to me the lady was saying that if one had nothing good to say one should say nothing at all. A idea that simply floors me, but then I've been a journalist for um, longer than dirt and have suffered the candid opinions of everyone and anyone who recognizes me from a byline.
According to the Dalai Lama, speech should be measured by the critieria of: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
If it isn't at least one of those things, perhaps it shouldn't be uttered -- I can go along with that. However, that would still leave plenty of opportunity to say things like "It isn't my cup of tea," which according to this person is still somehow too utterly, unbearably something awful.
At which point, all I can do is
and advise the woman to try to find a reasonable compromise between slander and opinion. Telling folks to stifle themselves never works.