Giving and Receiving Feedback

Giving and Receiving Feedbackⁱ

Giving and receiving feedback is very important when facilitating. It can help co-facilitators work more effectively together and it can help groups work more cohesively. If group members have the tools and encouragement to give one another effective feedback; group members are enabled and encouraged to tell one another when they have done a good job when they have hurt or offended someone or when they need more information that might help avoid a conflict from occurring. In general, sharing and using tips for giving and receiving feedback empowers group members to make the group, and the group process, one that they are actively shaping.

Some tips for giving and receiving effective feedback include:

• Talk in the first person. Use statements such as “I felt...” These communicate personal responsibility for comments and do not claim to speak for others.

• Be specific. Statements such as “When you said X, I...” or “Your idea about topic Y...” focus on the particular action or statement. Avoid general comments such as “You always...”

• Challenge the idea or action, not the person. It doesn't help to draw attention to the pitch of someone's voice or a stutter. Focus on actions or behaviours that a person can modify (if they agree this would be useful). Remember to praise aspects of an idea or action that are positive, even if the idea or action as a whole doesn’t seem to work.

• Combine recognition of what worked with a challenge to improve. Again be as specific as possible. For example, if a person sounds preachy in one part of the presentation but engages people in a lively way in another part, refer to the positive side to offer an example of a good model of tone, strategy, and style.

• Ask questions to clarify or probe reasons. Questions such as “What did you take into account when you decided...?” or “What did you mean when you said...?” credits the person with selection and judgment. These questions also help avoid criticisms and suggestions that are irrelevant to what the person is trying to do.

• Identify the bridges. When you are giving critical feedback to a participant, remind her or him of what you have in common. Comments such as “I know that when we do X we tend to...” remind the person that you're on the same side. Sometimes a part of this same bridge may be to acknowledge differences. For example, “As a white woman, my experience is a bit different, but...”

• Acknowledge how you connect to a problem. People can learn as much from what goes badly as from what goes well. It helps to show how you have also experienced a similar problem. Statements such as “I've had this problem myself…” or “This is helpful for me/us to think about because...” emphasize that this is not just an academic exercise for you as facilitator.

• Whenever possible, make suggestions for alternative approaches. Questions such as “Have you considered...?” or “What would happen if we tried...?” open a range of possible responses. The use of “we” suggests that the issue and solution are of interest to the whole group.

• Encourage others to generate different ideas or options. This will make it clear that there is not just one other (and therefore better) way to do it.

• Do not assume that a difference is political. Check to see whether a conflict is based on different experience, different social identity or a different role in the organization. The response may clarify the extent to which debate can change a person's view and ascertain how important a view is to that person's self-image.

• Be aware of “attacks” by co-facilitators or other group members on any participant who is simply stating their opinion. It is important to always maintain a sense of respect and safety within the group. Remember, there is a big difference between destructive opinions and constructive criticism.