“Here are some areas for improvement …” – The Art of Giving Feedback
Feedback, criticism, or even general comments may be a tough pill to swallow for most of us, especially from the receiving end. Reverse the roles, however, and you find yourself with the challenge of delivering feedback in a constructive but firm manner. Giving feedback is one of the more common features in our day-to-day settings – from a member of a project team to a team leader trying to motivate the best out of your team. How can we deliver feedback effectively?
You may have read (or been told) about the various methods of giving effective feedback. Some may suggest a ‘tough love’ approach – preferring to slice through the niceties and be direct in harsh comments. Others prefer a more diplomatic approach by first layering the feedback with a positive note or a compliment. We believe that the best approach (as with most communication settings) require authentic interaction with your feedback recipient.
Today, let us share three tips you can keep in mind to initiate that authentic feedback conversation with your team, your audience, or even your peers!
Tip #1: Focus on the Forward Perspective
The common trap communicators tend to fall into when giving feedback is the tendency to stay in the present and ‘investigate’ a cause. Suppose you are telling a team member about how you need him to meet the deadlines for the work he is submitting. If you come in hard with a “You are too slow and need to meet the deadlines!”, you are likely to face immediate resistance. On the other hand, starting the feedback sessions with layers of apology or caveats may not motivate the recipient to change their ways.
The midpoint between both approaches is to find a third element to focus on (aside from being mean or being nice). Aim to be forward-looking and focus on the effect or reason for the feedback. Instead of getting drawn into whether something is ‘true’ or not, highlight the non-personal impact of the behaviour you are trying to change. From there, you can build the positive aspects that the individual is showing to carry forward. For example, the comment above can be framed as “I appreciate the effort in delivering the proposals as required; however, the team has had a shorter lead time to update the Management – moving forward, can we explore how we can better meet the deadlines?”
Tip #2: Share the “Why”, Not The “Who”
A core principle in giving feedback is to focus on the reason and not the person. Of course, you are unlikely to go straight to the recipient and start with personal insults or complaints. However, in a high-stress environment, such as giving feedback, a wrong choice of words or a careless linguistic device may lead to a personal attack. For example, using the phrase “This argument puts the cart before the horse” may unwittingly suggest that the individual is illogical (when the focus is more on the effect of the argument).
Shifting from “who” to “why” does not mean being overly nice; it means setting out the reason for why the change is important. For example, you may have heard of the Sandwich method for giving feedback (layering negative feedback with a positive point first). Instead of just throwing a compliment as a formality, try to link the feedback to a rationale. For example, rather than going with a:
“That was good, but ….”
Try this instead:
“I found your speech content well-researched. To build towards a complete speech, challenge yourself to add ….”
Experiment with various feedback structures, and you will soon find it comfortable to link your feedback to a rationale!
*** The situation you can save yourself from: ***
Recipient of your feedback:
The exasperated you: “No No No!”
Tip #3: Make it a Team Effort!
Depending on the setting, your feedback can be a tool to encourage the individual to work as part of a bigger goal. Receiving negative feedback can be alienating because you may feel like you are the only person on the receiving end. However, if the feedback is framed as a collective growth goal, the recipient may be motivated to contribute to the group effort. In short, taking in the feedback is a huge contributor to the team’s success!
One method you can try in framing as a team effort is to deliver (1) the impact on the team, (2) the potential that exists, and (3) the collective reassurance. For (1), this builds on our second tip of focussing on the “why” – have them understand how the team is impacted. From there, (2) shows the recipient that there is room (and opportunity) to grow – this is not just a one-way venting session! Finally, (3) ensures that the feedback recipient does not feel alienated in the growth process.
Deliver that Constructive Feedback!
We often hear the cliché that the best feedback is constructive feedback – we forget that this means the feedback needs to offer the recipient the opportunity to construct his/her growth process. Giving feedback need not be a tense, negative, and rigid experience. When done right, it can be that tool to bring your team or peers to a higher level. Try out our three tips today and deliver your best feedback!
By The Way…
If you are keen to take your public speaking skills & presentation skills (either business/corporate presentation / kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that you may communicate and deliver speeches with greater flair and charisma, feel free to check out our public speaking/ presentation skills course for adults and public speaking course for children below!
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https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/courses-and-programs/group-classes-for-adults/
If you are looking for a 2-day intensive public speaking/ presentation skills course for adults instead (for our adult learners who can’t do weekends), learn more about our presentation skills training course here: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/presentation-skills-training-course-by-world-champion/
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If you are a human resources manager/ business owner in your company…
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Feel free to reach out to us to curate your own public speaking corporate training programme for your team, company, or organization! Let us help you develop them into highly effective public speakers at work, empowered with effective presentation skills & storytelling skills – them giving speeches with charisma, influence and impact is something you can look forward to!
For effective presentation skills training Singapore & public speaking training for corporates/ employees: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/corporate-public-speaking-training-workshop/