Feedback is a gift - a few tips to make it great!
"This post is awesome! I had no idea that _______... keep it up!"
This is a missed opportunity, because it adds no value for the recipient. She doesn't know what she did right, what she did wrong or how she can improve, or even if the person giving the feedback read the post...
This situation can be easily avoided by following a few simple rules:
- Feel good about helping, and get ready to have fun doing it; set a strong objective for your feedback work before you start to review the post; I generally set out to find 2 really positive observations and at least 3 ways to improve.
- READ THE POST- if the post is just too long and too far outside your interest or technical competence, then read just enough of it to meet your objectives; any less is just plain slacking.
- Catch them doing something right: This is not so hard, and it isn't "This is awesome..."; they deserve specifics, so find some - this isn't hard. Jut the fact that they are blogging puts them in the top 1% of the world population, so they are bound to score high on bravery and taking action. Grammar, humor, image selection, topic selection, niche choice and clarity are all fair game. There is power in what they did right, so acknowledge that to build a foundation for them to build on.
- Find actionable ways to make it better: I've yet to see any article that can't be improved, even in the NY Times or Harvard Business Review - this one is no different, so find opportunities. Think about what they can actually do, and suggest it: Not "learn to speak English" this isn't likely to motivate action. Better would be "watch out for subject - verb disagreement - maybe Grammarly would help... If you can't find 2 or three actionable improvement opportunities, you aren't trying...
Hope this helps you
Steve
Recent Comments
27
I am there with you , Steve. We are all learning here, and we all want to improve.
But what I noticed, some people take it as offense in case you point out some things in their writing, even if you do it in PM(that's the best way to do it, I guess).
We are community, and why not help others using our strong features and skills and not take help from others who in their turn use their strong features and skills helping us?:)
I agree, feedback is essential for improvement and people should welcome it, but often they don't.
Feedback is never easy, unless the person getting it is looking for a solution to a specific problem, and the input you offer addresses it in a way they can easily accept. That's a lot of 'unless'es, so it is seldom easy, especially if it was not specifically requested. Even if it WAS asked for, many people have areas where they are defensive or resistant to change. In those areas acceptance is really unlikely.
If we aren't in those danger zones, I find that feedback presented as a way to make something great even better still is much easier to swallow than feedback offered as criticism. I try to avoid criticism as it usually doesn't help. Opportunities for improvement are another matter... :-)
Yep, there's always room for improvement- my favourite thing to say to people and also to live by.:)
Excellent points....it's a real skill to give honest, substantial feedback without discouraging the writer. You've given some good suggestions. Thanks.
Debbie
Hi
Awesome posts indeed... design, layout, text, pictures...
On tablet, i can not add pictures, nor interlines. Just ugly pargraphs, which oblige me to be short and crispy. Not being on computer can be frustrating since the technical addons sustain the writing.
My point? The medium matters and when used correctly a delight.
Thank you
ML
Great point, Bellon. It is tough to fully understand feedback or to do constructive input unless we know some context, like what is the first language of the person authoring the post or offering the feedback, and what sort of device do they use to view or operate the site.
Powerful points; I'm not sure what the answer is to clearing that shortcoming, bet it is worth some serious thought...
Steve
Hi there
I could not agree more with you
Well said and thanks for the reminder
We definitely have the best system here at WA and sometimes, I suspect, that we don't appreciate it that often.
Continued success
Cheers PB
Thanks Phil,
I agree about the power of the WA platform and other resources - I've not been here long enough to take it for granted, though I'm sure some do. It should be appreciated and built upon...
Best,
Steve
You make some great points here about feedback, like setting your objectives and actually reading the posts. We all need good feedback if we are to improve upon what we have done.
Your use of images could have been better. You should use images that evoke the message that you are trying to convey. You might even try using an analogy in your post and use images that illustrate your analogy.
Glad you agree with the approach, Anita.
As for the images, I agree with your thoughts on how they should be chosen, and that is exactly what I try to do. Obviously I missed the mark this time, at least as far as images and analogies that resonate with you.
I'm wide open to suggestions about how to improve them: More obvious? Add text to the image? Diagrams or cartoons instead of photos? What would You do?
I see your analogy now that I am looking for it with regard to your images. The analogy you used is not continued through the text. If you had added, "Like a gift..." or "As with a gift..." several times within your text, then it would have resonated more and the image you used would have made more immediate sense.
With the last image, I would have talked about "giving someone a hand up.' When you only mention your analogy once or not at all, then do not refer back to it, it gets lost in the information you have given. Does that help?
It does, Anita. I do see your perspective better now.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on a blog I did after thinking about your original feedback on the images: B-Roll for your post or page? There are many ways one can create or select images to enhance an article. Mine is mostly informed by this approach... Since your perspective differs, I'd like to hear more... :-)
Strange, Anita - your comment never was displayed. A shame, as I was looking forward to reading it. Not sure what is going on with that post; several likes, but only one comment so far and that one just a few minutes ago...
That is strange. It's so late now and I am going to bed soon. I will look into it in the morning - see if I can remember what I said and try again. It was a rather lengthy comment too. :(
This is an excellent post in all the right things to do and the way to approach it.
Sometimes we are selfish and lazy and so, we don't take the time to properly analyze and offer quality feedback. (Yet we would probably want someone to offer us quality).
It is very wrong. My policy is I do for people what I would want them to do for me. I am fairly thorough in my reviews.
Sometimes I think we mean well and we focus on being polite, but we are really hiding our laziness.
Excellent!
David
Glad you approve, David. I agree with you completely on this. It really is an application of the golden rule.
In my opinion the only feedback with real value is feedback that is encouraging and supportive, and provides a do list for improvement and learning. If I can't find a way to be encouraging, I won't try to offer feedback, because it is VERY unlikely to be supportive. Politeness is important, but it isn't enough; people must be offered hope and a feeling of accomplishment along with a roadmap to something better.
In hundreds of interactions at WA I've only encountered one instance where I couldn't provide positive feedback, and it left me a bit shaken - fortunately, realizing how rare it was allowed me to snap back into a functional mindset.
Stephen,
I really love this post for being in a straight talk beyond political correctness with lip services. In fact, I have tried writing a post of similar nature to uplift the quality and quantity of mutual support and engagement, but being deferred by a possible intimidation of drawing social condemnation for being political incorrect. I will take a breath and write one up soon.
Best to you and family,
Chin-Ti
Thanks, Chin-Ti. I agree. More encouragement on this topic would be helpful. As long as we are positive in our suggestions, I don't imagine it will step on too many toes.
Please plunge in and add your voice. It is sorely needed IMHO.
Steve
Absolutely! I have improved my website greatly based on honest feedback. And your right, I like to hear my website is awesome, but I also want to hear how to honestly improve it. Great post!
Thanks Melody. I've improved my site based on honest feedback too, but many of my posts get little or no feedback, so they are not as good as they should be. Comments usually don't deliver feedback (not what they are for...) except in cases where I ask friends to comment, and they offer feedback unsolicited.
Sometimes the WA feedback system works great, but often it produces very weak responses.
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Great tips!