3 tips for a person feedback

Imagine a person has asked you to give them feedback on their performance. This sounds easy - but there are several reasons why it can be difficult. First, the person may or may not be open to your views - even if they say they want a reality check. Second, there is an art to giving feedback. Let’s explore three tips for making this happen.

* You can build-on what the person does well.

Start by watching the person in action or seeing an example of their work. Looking at their performance, ask yourself the following questions.

a) What is the person doing well?

b) How can they do more of these things - follow these principles - to succeed in the future?

Many people have been taught to give feedback by simply criticising what the performer does wrong. Spotting the person’s strengths - and building on what they do right - is a much more difficult skill. Sounds simple, but what do you look for in a person’s behaviour? You can focus on the 5 ‘As’ of their performance. Be super specific and try to give concrete examples.

- Attitude. Look for when the person takes responsibility and shows a positive attitude.

- Ability. Look for when the person shows real ability and flashes of talent.

- Application. Look for when the person really applies themselves, overcomes setbacks and works hard to reach the goal.

- Adventure. Look for when the person shows a sense of adventure, creativity and imagination.

- Achievement. Look for what the person actually achieves, delivers and finishes.

Build-up a catalogue of what the person is doing right - then move onto the next step.

* You can focus on what the person can do better – and how.

Looking at the person’s performance, ask yourself the following questions.

a) What can the person do better - and how?

b) What tools, knowledge and ideas can I pass-on to help them to improve in this area?

Build-up a catalogue of what the person can improve - then move onto the next step.

* You can put the feedback in a way the person can accept and use in the future.

Bear in mind that people can only take so much information on board at once. This is particularly so if there are many things they must improve. So you may want to use the 3:2 ratio.

* Three things the person can do to build-on their strengths.

* Two things the person can do to manage the consequences of their weaknesses.

This is not a hard and fast rule - but it is a reasonable guideline. Some individuals will say: “Just give it to me straight, no messing about.” That is fine, but it is still vital to encourage them to build-on their strengths - rather than devote all the time to their weaknesses.

Sort-out the messages you want to give to the person. Then comes the hard part: getting your messages across in a way the person can receive. Looking at what you want to communicate, ask yourself: “How can I put these messages in a way the person can accept and use to achieve success?” Finally, before giving the feedback, it can be useful to clarify the following themes.

Strengths

The key messages I want to give the person to help them to build-on their strengths are:


*

*

*

Weaknesses

The key messages - and the practical tools - I want to give the person
to help them to manage the consequences of their weaknesses are:

*

*

*

Giving Feedback

The specific things I can do to communicate these messages in
a way the person can accept and use to succeed in the future are:

*

*

*

Giving feedback is an art. It is often not about what you want to say; it is about what the person can receive. Great encouragers are good at giving feedback, however, and helping people to achieve even more success in the future.