10 TIPS: Giving & Receiving Feedback

Giving and receiving feedback doesn’t need to be a stress filled experience. Receiving feedback from another person is beneficial, with the intent of enabling you to grow as an individual and to help you be successful.

Giving feedback is a way to let people know how effective they are in what they are trying to accomplish, or how their actions may have affected you. If we know how other people see us, we can overcome problems in how we communicate and interact with them.

Giving Feedback

1. Convey your positive intent
2. Describe specifically what you have observed
3. State the impact of the behavior or action
4. Ask the other person to respond
5. Focus the discussion on solutions

Receiving Feedback

1. Focus on the content, not on the person
2. Listen calmly and attentively
3. Clarify the feedback
4. Acknowledge the other person’s concerns
5. Avoid defending or over-explaining