Giving Feedback That Actually Helps

Feedback is one of those areas that most people recognise as important, yet it can still feel awkward to get right. It is easy to fall into giving comments that are either too general to be useful or so cautious that the point is not entirely clear.

A lot of this comes from trying to balance being honest with being considerate, which can lead to messages becoming diluted.

What tends to make feedback more useful is grounding it in something specific. Referring to what was observed, rather than offering a general impression, gives the other person something they can actually work with.

For example, it is one thing to say that someone needs to be more confident, and quite another to describe what happened in a particular meeting and how their contribution affected the discussion.

Timing also plays a part. When feedback is given closer to the moment, it tends to feel more relevant and easier to engage with.

It is also worth allowing space for the other person to respond. Asking how they saw the situation or what they were aiming to achieve can turn feedback into a more balanced conversation.

When approached in this way, feedback feels less like something being delivered and more like something being worked through together, which usually makes it easier to hear.

If you’re interested in developing your feedback skills further you might like our free short video