Learning how to give feedback will improve your communication skill and have a positive effect on your professional and personal life.
Feedback is one thing that guides us towards bettering ourselves. Without feedback in our communication, we would not know what areas we need to improve. So when it comes to the workplace, it becomes very crucial to give (and receive) feedback to help your and your team’s performance.
Giving proper feedback in an encouraging manner is key to effective communication skills. Giving the right information in the right way enables professionals to perform better and so their organisation continues to grow. How well you utilise this aspect of communication will help you build stronger relationships with your team members and employees.
7 Aspects of Communication To Consider For Giving Effective Feedback
You should always think about apt types of communicative strategies to sharpen your communication skills and giving proper feedback is one of the most prominent communication skills. You need to prioritise your thoughts to limit your feedback to the key areas of concern. Ambiguous or too much feedback given at a single time can be overwhelming to the listener.
Learn how to give feedback effectively without offending someone by following the tips mentioned below.
1. Convey With Clarity:
Avoiding ambiguity in conversation is one of the most effective communication skills. While giving feedback too, do not use generalised comments instead use examples to illustrate your statement.
2. Realistic Approach:
Feedback should not be given just to highlight a fault but to focus on what can be changed. It becomes redundant and annoying talk for listeners without a realistic approach.
3. Balanced Conversation:
Use the sandwich approach for giving feedback to communicate without offending someone. Begin your talk with specific strengths, then include specific areas of improvement and applicable realistic changes. Then conclude with a positive comment.
4. Focus on Performance:
Focus primarily on the progress of the task and performance, not the character for giving appropriate feedback. Start with performance-oriented statements, then elaborate on how you feel about their progress, and end with what you want.
5. Notify Timely:
Always try to convey your feedback at the appropriate time, otherwise, it will be useless and frustrating. Being prompt is key to giving effective feedback as it helps reduce operational losses and improve work quality.
6. Keep it Private:
Avoid providing feedback to your teammate or employee in public. Always prefer to have a one-on-one meeting, be it physical or online to talk to them about their performance. As one of the most effective types of communicative strategy, it gives your team member or employee a chance to reflect in a thoughtful way.
7. Encourage Discussion:
Giving feedback becomes very relevant when you let your team members actively participate in the discussion with their opinion. You can also encourage them to ask them if they have follow-up questions to mitigate any chances of confusion.
You can further follow these tips for handling difficult conversations while giving feedback.
After giving feedback, make a conscious effort to follow up. It is a continuous process, not a one-time event for ensuring constant improvement. Set a habit to provide more feedback in the future for performance assessment.
Do you communicate smartly or need help to enhance your communication skills? Take the Free Communication Skills Assessment to take the first step to speak with confidence.
Smita D Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Performance Enhancement Coaching Programs enable introverted executives to speak with confidence and communicate with impact so that they emerge leaders sooner than envisaged.
Prior to her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a TEDx speaker, a panellist cum speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.
You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and book a complimentary strategy session at https://www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com/booking.