How to give better feedback in just 19 words!

The wonderful Adam Grant was recently here in Australia – and it reminded us of a terrific podcast / interview between Adam and Jennifer Garner, where he shared some important research by Daniel Coyle that has been found to greatly help people to be more receptive to receiving constructive feedback from others.

People are more open to constructive criticism when it is clear that you believe in their potential and you care about their growth!

Here is a snippet of this interview…

Adam evolves the words slightly, and replaces ‘I know’ with ‘I’m confident’…

Dan Pink also shared this in one of his Pinkcasts.

In previous posts we’ve shared how important it is to share your INTENT for feedback, before you share the CONTENT. This let’s people know it is coming from a place of care, and not judgement.

This was supported by a video presentation shared by the Growth Faculty by Kylie Lewis, Dare to Lead, in 2023 where she shared that to provide psychologically safe feedback, it helps to include words like this that confirm your intentions…

This helps ready people for the feedback they are about the receive, and stops them second guessing why you are giving it to them (helping to turn off an unhelpful internal dialogue that may sound like…’they are unhappy with me, they don’t like me, they don’t think I’m up to this job…’)

Combining what we’ve learned about the micro-yes and sharing ‘intent before content’, we can help increase the likelihood the receiver of our feedback does so in the spirit it is given. Try some variations for yourself to ensure it comes in your ‘voice’…

Do you have a moment to talk about how that last meeting went? I care about you growing in this role and have a suggestion about something you could try next time…can I share it with you?

Would you have a few minutes to discuss the last report you sent to me to review? I’d like to share some tips because I have high expectations and I am confident you can reach them…