Feedback Strategies

After reading these articles about tips and tricks to giving great feedback, I realized that my prior thoughts about feedback needed to change. I thought the typical "Compliment Sandwich" was a good way to give feedback without harming the person on the receiving end. However, in How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk, they said this can actually be detrimental. It doesn't do what we think it does and can actually send the wrong message overall.

This article taught me that it is important to just get to the point, to be transparent. It also taught me that explaining your reasoning and being genuine can go a long way. If you approach the situation the right way, people usually want to hear and take note of your feedback. They may even want to discuss ways to move forward or improve, which can be even more helpful than just the feedback itself.

I think we all find trouble with giving feedback in being over positive and vague. We want people to feel appreciated but don't necessarily spend the time to be detailed enough in the praise. This is exactly what The Trouble with Amazing: Giving Praise that Matters, sets out to explain. I learned that if I want to give positive feedback or praise, it needs to be about specific actions and not general statements about a person. I also learned that these types of praise do more to motivate and encourage people, which is usually the goal of positive feedback. 

I think I feel more prepared about how to give feedback, especially with the guidelines that were created by former students. It helps to have tips outlining how to give a type of feedback and then have multiple examples of the tips in action. I'm sure I will be utilizing this resource a lot in the beginning until I feel fully confident in my feedback skill. 

Something I have found to be really helpful when giving feedback is to also ask for feedback yourself. It develops a greater sense of trust and opens communication. It feels more like a two way street instead of one person being bombarded. You can also get some pretty honest feedback when you prompt someone without time to prepare their comments beforehand.

(Source: Feedback Padlet)