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.”

From MSN – Say this, not that: 5 ways to give feedback that gets results:

1. Say this: ”I noticed that you’ve missed a few deadlines lately.” Not that: “You seem disinterested in your work lately.” When giving feedback, it’s important to focus on an employee’s specific behavior, not the impression you had of it. Telling an employee that he or she “seems disinterested”  or “appears disengaged” is actually a comment about your perception or impression of the employee – which comes across as a judgment – when in reality, the employee’s perceived disinterest could be the result of something unrelated to work. Focusing on the specific behavior that led to that impression opens up the door to have a clear discussion about the reasons why, rather than making the employee feel judged, alienated or confused.

This is a great point, unfortunately somewhat hidden away.  Here’s what I take away from that paragrap:

Observe the symptom, identify the cause.

Wrong:

“By relying on pages of notes, you limited your hand gestures which prevented you from making as great a connection as you could.”

Right:

“Many speakers worry about trying to remember everything they want to say.  Notes can help with that.  I recommend telling stories as they are much easier to remember and allow me to forgo the notes and be real with the audience.”

Simply instructing the speaker that notes hindered their speech is not enough.  Address their resistance.  Identify the cause.  It might take some teasing to get to the real culprit.  It will be worth it though, as the speaker will be able to address it and make the change.

Very interesting video on Darren LaCroix’s site about Jackpot Toastmasters:

“The home of the 30 minute evaluation.”  I would love to know more about how that is structured.  Is that one person evaluating for 30 minutes, or a round-robin format?  I am sure Jackpot Toastmasters has some great experience they could share.

There’s an interesting comment by Michael Erwine on the post:

Yes! Talk about doing something different!!!

I love the idea of talking an idea and pushing it out to the edge. 30 minute evaluations are a great idea. Who says you have to be exactly like every other Toastmasters club in the world. Establish your own focus.

I gave a talk at a District Conference about pushing clubs to the edge. One thought experiment was: “What if your club dues were $100 a month?”

The 1st blush answer is that you wouldn’t get many members but…

On 2nd blush you wonder, “Who would join?” Answer, folks who were very serious about improving their speaking. Then…”what could the club offer them at that price level?” Hmm…$100 x 12 (months) x 20 (members) = a yearly budget of $24,000 dollars.

Heck, you could even get Darren LaCroix to help you out at that level.

The major point is not (necessarily) to up your club’s dues to $100 a month but to expand your thinking about what can be offered…and not lock your club in to thinking cheap.

Rock on Darren and (as you always do)…

Do Something Different!

Think differently

Listened to a radio ad today that was interesting.

The product is some microwave food that cooks quicker because it isn’t frozen.  The ad starts out from the point of view of the person next in line for the microwave.  They get more and more frustrated by how long the current user’s food takes to cook.  I actually got annoyed at this point with the person too.  Then, the product is introduced.  I didn’t care what it was because I was already annoyed, and this product didn’t fix that problem.  It only fixes how long your own food takes.

This seems to me to be a mismatch between the problem and the benefit.

When you make suggestions to people, make sure that they address the problem and provide a tangible benefit.