Feedback Strategies

Simple praise like "Good Job!" may feel good to give, but isn't very helpful.

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The first article I read was "The Difference Between Praise and Feedback". I think it did a good job of succinctly explaining the difference, and further, explaining why feedback is preferable to praise. The author, Anya Kamenetz, pointed out how commenting on effort rather than results encourages the one receiving feedback to continue to put forth an effort, whereas if results are praised, then the individual may feel downtrodden if they don't get the results they want. Implicit in this idea is that we have a lot more control over our level of effort than we do the results we produce. Kamenetz also noted that specific feedback was better than general feedback, as it is also easier to make changes when we know what to change. Instead of saying "I can see you worked really hard on this!", saying "I can see that all of that practice on *this very specific thing* has really improved your *thing they were practicing*," lets the person know exactly what has been successful, and therefore what to continue doing.

The second article I read was "How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk". Critiquing someone else's work can often be poorly received, as it's easy to feel like the critiques say something about you as opposed to just your work. The author, Adam Grant, gave a few solutions to this problem. He suggests explaining why you're giving the feedback, taking yourself off of a pedestal, asking if the person wants feedback, and having a transparent dialogue, not a manipulative monologue.  By explaining why you're giving feedback, it reinforces the point that you're trying to help the person you're critiquing, not hurt them. By taking yourself off a pedestal, you're putting yourself on their level, so your feedback is less likely to make them feel like you see yourself as superior and see them as inferior. By asking the person if they want feedback, the person is given the opportunity to choose the feedback, and therefore are usually receptive. And finally, by having a transparent dialogue, it puts the person you're critiquing more at ease that you don't want anything out of the interaction other than to aid them.