The fifth and final entry from MSN – Say this, not that: 5 ways to give feedback that gets results:

5. Say this: ”Tell me, what was your understanding of what I asked you to do?” Not that: “You seem to have misunderstood what I asked you to do.” There’s that assumption creeping back in again, which does little to open up an honest, productive conversation.  Try to really look at your employees’ work through their eyes and try to understand their approach to their work. It will help you analyze the situation in a way that helps them reach their  goals. And, perhaps most importantly, this approach will help you see how you can communicate with your employees more effectively.

Look through their eyes.

Look at a speech through the speakers eyes.  Their experience, their skill level, their experience.  Empathize.  It will make you a great evaluator.

No evaluating today.  Just unconditional love

The fourth entry from MSN – Say this, not that: 5 ways to give feedback that gets results:

4. Say this: ”Your presentation was extremely well-researched. Here’s where it could’ve been stronger …” Not that: “The research you used in your presentation was a little weak in some areas.” Preface with the positive.  Point out what the employee is doing well before delving into areas for improvement. When employees feel like their work is appreciated, they are much more likely to implement the constructive criticism – and to come to you for feedback in the future.

There’s a way to give feedback that people want to hear.

The sandwich technique is all well and good.  Making the contents of the sandwich obvious lessens how useful the feedback can be.

I would not be receptive to “Here’s where it could’ve been stronger…”

I would prefer a question rather than a statement of fact.  Something like “How did you determine the right amount of statistics for this audience?”  Perhaps I had a requirement, a request, or an insight that you were unaware of?  Don’t assume that your point of view is everyone elses.

The third entry from MSN – Say this, not that: 5 ways to give feedback that gets results:

3. Say this: “I’d like to offer you some feedback on this report, is that OK with you?” Not that: “Your report was …” Whenever possible, request to give feedback. Not only will your employees appreciate the gesture, but they’ll be more likely to take the feedback into consideration and apply it to try to improve.

People need to be receptive to feedback for it to be useful.

This is one reason Toastmasters is so effective.  The speaker is expecting feedback.

I would go a step further though.  “I’d like to offer” is the wrong approach.  It is too “me” focused.  The feedback is about the other person, not you.  Instead, I suggest you say something like, “Let me know if you would like to hear my feedback on your report.”

Following on from yesterday, from MSN – Say this, not that: 5 ways to give feedback that gets results:

2. Say this: “You were effective when you …” or, “You could’ve been more effective when you …” Not that: “Good job.”  In other words, feedback that is generic and vague is also useless. Focusing on specific actions has two major benefits: It prevents employees from taking the feedback personally, and it also helps them understand what they should do – or not do – in the future.

Be specific.

Wrong:

“Good speech, great vocals, effective gestures, etc.”

Right:

“When you said “I love you Patrick,” your voice took on a mellow tone that convinced me that you meant every word.”