The Golden Rule For Giving Professional Feedback
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 10:51 am
We appreciate it when people give us honest feedback. However, in the business world, harsh words alienate colleagues and risk damaging a reputation. When it comes to giving feedback, there is a right way and a wrong way to give criticism or feedback.
The wrong way to go is to be direct, have a “sharp tongue” and expose your thoughts unfiltered. While this is often seen as “telling it like it is,” it also reflects an alarmingly high level of dull indifference to your colleagues.
The correct way is to start with identifying what has been done correctly. Starting with prepared acknowledgment for the recipient showing that you recognize their value. You can then move on to offering your carefully worded criticism or “feedback.” After the criticism has been delivered, you should go back and offer another kind word. This is known as the sandwich method, where “the sandwich” is given with feedback words of affirmation.
The uae consumer email list Sandwich Method for Giving Professional Feedback
For example, the sandwich method of criticism could look like this:
I really appreciate the effort you put into today's meeting report. Next time, could you please provide the Google Analytics data in your presentation? This will allow us to see exactly why we've had spikes in traffic. I also wanted to thank you for all your hard work. I know these reports are really data driven and there is a lot of information to juggle. Thank you! Please let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Here, you've pampered John's ego by including a compliment (the effort) with the criticism and ending with sympathetic understanding (we know there's a lot to see). The actual criticism is that John lacks attention to detail in his reports. Maybe you've had the same conversation with him before. Maybe this is your third time asking for the same thing, which brings us to another point: Give him the lowdown on what's been said.
The wrong way to go is to be direct, have a “sharp tongue” and expose your thoughts unfiltered. While this is often seen as “telling it like it is,” it also reflects an alarmingly high level of dull indifference to your colleagues.
The correct way is to start with identifying what has been done correctly. Starting with prepared acknowledgment for the recipient showing that you recognize their value. You can then move on to offering your carefully worded criticism or “feedback.” After the criticism has been delivered, you should go back and offer another kind word. This is known as the sandwich method, where “the sandwich” is given with feedback words of affirmation.
The uae consumer email list Sandwich Method for Giving Professional Feedback
For example, the sandwich method of criticism could look like this:
I really appreciate the effort you put into today's meeting report. Next time, could you please provide the Google Analytics data in your presentation? This will allow us to see exactly why we've had spikes in traffic. I also wanted to thank you for all your hard work. I know these reports are really data driven and there is a lot of information to juggle. Thank you! Please let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Here, you've pampered John's ego by including a compliment (the effort) with the criticism and ending with sympathetic understanding (we know there's a lot to see). The actual criticism is that John lacks attention to detail in his reports. Maybe you've had the same conversation with him before. Maybe this is your third time asking for the same thing, which brings us to another point: Give him the lowdown on what's been said.