What is the shortest english word which contains the letters: A, B, C, D, E, F? It is: Feedback
SIMPLE
Make it simple. Just say what you want to say, without adding any unnecessary words or ideas.
OPENNESS
The most important message that you want to communicate during a feedback is: “I’m ok, you are ok!”. This is made by attitude and tone of voice. This will open a communication channel between you as giver and the other person as receiver.
HE/SHE WILL LISTEN.
HELP
An important thing to establish from the beggining is that you will not give feedback to the person, but you will give feedback for activity or results. And you need to accentuate the fact that you are willing to provide help for the other to identify problems and solutions. This way the receiver will be willing to discuss very open and easy about the results, without feeling threaten personally
HE/SHE WILL UNDERSTAND YOU.
IMPROVEMENT
Accentuate the fact the feedback you give it will be useful for both of you. The other will be able to indentify some issues and improve some behaviors or actions.
HE/SHE WILL EVOLVE.
CARENESS
You shoud transmit that you are aware the other is a human being, not a machine and there is a specific context and some causes for the current result. You are open to understand the causes and the context, allowing this way to identify the solution and generate some processes to help other evolve. You care about the other person.
EMPATY
COMMUNICATION
Take good care not to interrupt the communication and be lost in excuses, blaming or finding the guilty persons. If this happens, the other person will not learn something from this, nor you.
WE COMMUNICATE
A simple phrase to open a negative feedback session:
“When I notice something was not done right, I tell you. I point what you did wrong and I ask you how you think you could do it better. If you wish, I can help you identify causes and conditions that allowed this to happen.”
Next post will be about “How to receive feedback”.
Great story and example