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Defamation is a "tort," not a crime. This means that it is a civil wrong as opposed to a criminal wrong.
Defamation of character can relate to spoken derogatory statements (slander) or written derogatory statements (libel).
Insults are not considered to be defamation of character.
Courts of Law tend to believe that an opinion is not the same as a stated fact, regardless of the content.
For defamation of character, there has to be an identifiable victim.
For a good defamation case, the slander/libel must be false. It also must expose the victim to hatred, contempt or other harsh situations.
If the defamation affects you in your occupation, you may have a good case.
The protection of Free Speech (First Ammendment) is the main obstacle in winning a defamation of character case.
Actual damage must be proven as a result of the defamation. Just being upset about something that was said or written is not enough to constitute a defamation of character lawsuit.
Many defamation of character lawsuits are settled privately before they reach an actual court trial. This is usually in order to avoid any further damage from publicity of the incident.
If it is proven that you gave permission for the statement in question to be made, you have no case.
If you do decide that you want to pursue a defamation of character lawsuit, consult an attorney experienced in this type of law. Your attorney can answer questions, tell you if you have a good case and give you the next step to take.
If you are planning on filing a lawsuit, gather all documents and evidence that has anything to do with your incident.
In your lawsuit, be sure to ask for punitive damages, as well as actual damages incurred.
Public officials and figures have a harder time winning cases of character defamation. For public officials and figures, it must be proven that the defendant acted with actual malice.
Private individuals have more protection from being defamed than public officials and figures.

Strong Case Points

Slander (written statements) make a stronger case than libel (oral statements)
There is a specific identifiable victim
The slander/libel is false
The slander/libel has exposed the victim to hatred, contempt or other harsh situations
The slander/libel has affected your occupation
Actual damages have occured and can be proven
For a public official or figure, malicious intent can be proven

Weak Case Points

The statement is an opinion
The statement is only an insult
There is no specific identifiable victim
The slander/libel is proven to be true
There was permission for the statement to be made
The statement is protected by the First Amendement
No actual damage can be proven
Being a public figure or official can make it harder to win a defamation case

Here's an example of a strong defamation of character case:

You are a city police officer. One day you pick up the newspaper and see an article about you, where the reporter states that you were arrested five years ago for a sexual offense. Now you of course know that this is absolutely false, and have no idea where this fictitious information came from. You would have a very strong case since the information has no truth to it, and would be very damaging to your reputation and your job.

Here's an example of a week defamation of character case:

You are a city police officer. One day you pick up the newspaper and see an article about your police department. In the article, the reporter says that he met you and that to him you seemed unprofessional. Since this is stated that it is just his opinion, and is not necessarily a lie, you would have a hard time winning a lawsuit for defamation of character.