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How to Give Constructive Criticism in 6 Steps
1. Use the Feedback Sandwich
The
feedback sandwich method is a popular method of giving constructive
criticism. It is often used in Toastmasters and in the corporate
environment.
PIP, which stands for
Positive-Improvement-Positive. I know there are people who use PIP to
represent Praise-Improve-Praise which is different from my version of
PIP. Read on.
With Positive-Improve-Positive, your feedback is broken down into 3 segments:
- You start off by focusing on the strengths — what you like about the item in question.
- Then, you provide the criticism — things you don’t like, the areas of improvement.
- Lastly, you round off the feedback with (a) a reiteration of the positive comments you gave at the start and (b) the positive results that can be expected if the criticism is acted upon.
It’s called the “feedback sandwich” because you wedge your criticism between an opening and an ending — like a patty wedged between two buns.
Here’s an example: you want to critique someone on their website. Here’s how PIP can be used:
- First layer, “P” for Positive, where you talk about what you like:
- “Great website! I love the overall layout and how user-friendly it is. The overall design is nice and pleasing to the eye, and consistent with your brand. The menu is very accessible and makes it easy to access your site sections. I found the intro video helpful in giving me an overview of what you do.”
- Second layer, “I” for Improve, where you talk about the areas of improvement:
- “However, I thought that there are two things that can be better. Firstly, there is a lot of content in the sidebar that clutters up the usage experience. Perhaps if the sidebar content can be narrowed down to the key things, it would make it easier to navigate. Secondly, the font size is too small for me. I found it hard to read as I had to keep squinting.”
- Last layer, “P” for Positive, where
you reiterate the positive points and the positive results to be
expected when the improvement areas are worked on:
- “Overall, great work. I love what you’ve done with the design, layout, and intro video. I think if the sidebar clutter can be removed and the font size can be increased, it’d really create a fantastic usage experience for any visitor.”
The feedback sandwich method is most appropriate when you are giving criticism to people you don’t know or don’t know well. Otherwise you may come across as very aggressive and rude if you just jump right into the critique. This is especially true in the Asian culture. Over time though, you can go right into the critique if you have established a rapport with the recipient and he/she is familiar with the way you think.
Some people may dislike using the feedback sandwich as they think it’s silly to praise for the sake of it. But the point of the feedback sandwich isn’t to give false praise or to butter people up. People are often quick to criticize, judge, or even shame, and it downplays what others are doing well and the effort they have put into their work. I see the feedback sandwich as a great way to (a) practice emotional generosity, because we sure can work on being more generous in supporting people’s hard work, (b) help the person learn what he/she is doing well, and (c) use this as the foundation to share what can be improved on.
2. Focus on the situation, not the person
(Objectivity in Subjectivity)
- Firstly, detach the situation from the person. This distinction is crucial. Take the person out of the equation and focus on the behavior / action / situation / issue at hand.
- Comment on the issue, not the person. For example, “The clothes are dirty” and not “You are dirty.” “The report is late” and not “You are late.” “The food is oily” and not “You are a bad cook.”
- Don’t make personal attacks. Comments like “I’m so sick and tired of…” or “You’re so stupid / negative / lazy / unorganized / ” come across as accusatory. Stay away from attacks.
- Don’t use active voice; use passive voice. Example of active voice vs. passive voice: “You gave a bad presentation.” vs. “The presentation you gave was bad.” Notice that the passive voice shifts the attention away from the person and brings it to the subject matter.
- Share how it affects you. Rather than go on and on about how bad the thing is, share how it affects you. This shifts the focus away from the person and onto yourself, which lets the person take a step back to evaluate the situation. It also gives him/her insight to where you are coming from.
3. Be specific with your feedback
The third tip to providing constructive criticism is to be specific.
- Vague: “Hey Celes, I’d love it if you can write some articles on communication.”
- Specific: “Hey Celes, don’t know if you’re taking suggestions but if you do, I’d love some advice on public speaking.”
The first feedback is very broad — “communication” is a very general topic. While I can identify some subtopics under communication like “networking,” “body language,” “small talk,” and “public speaking,” the subtopics that I choose may not be what the reader really wants.
With the second feedback, it is more actionable because it is so specific. It tells me right away that “Hey, there’s a request for public speaking articles,” after which I can then plan for an article or series on public speaking. There is no confusion.
That’s not to say that vague feedback is stupid or bad. It’s just that specific feedback helps me understand the user’s needs more easily, which makes it easy for me to serve his/her request. Likewise, it’s the same for you — if you want very actionable outcomes, if you want people to help you in a more targeted way, give specific vs. vague feedback. Specific feedback that doesn’t target the person as I shared in tip #2.
Here is another example of vague vs. specific feedback. Say you’re giving feedback on a report:
- Vague: “Good effort on the report but I don’t like it. I think there is room to be better.” — This feedback is hardly constructive. What do you mean by “don’t like it”? “Like” and “dislike” are subjective words. Unless objective criteria is used, it’s hard for the person to decipher what is the problem.
- Specific: “Good effort but there are some things which can be improved – namely, (a) the formatting and (b) the report conclusions. The formatting is not standardized – there are some parts that uses Arial and other parts that use Times New Roman. In a formal report, it is best to standardize the font. For the report conclusions, the ideas are good but they are too brief, especially ideas #1 and #3. The management would need more data to make their assessment.” — Great feedback that is specific. It tells the receiver the key problem areas, why they are problem areas, and specific incidences where they appear.
Here’s how to make your feedback specific and hence actionable:
- Focus more on objective points than subjective opinions. Just saying “I don’t like it” is not helpful. On the other hand, stating the specific things you do not like, is helpful.
- Break your feedback down into key points. Don’t give your feedback as one big lump. Break it down into various key points, then give your feedback point by point.
- Give specific examples of each point. What are the exact situations or examples where the person exhibits the behaviors you highlighted in #2? Point them out. There is no need to highlight every single example – just pointing out 1-2 key examples per point will be sufficient. The intention here is to (a) bring the person’s awareness to things which he/she may be oblivious about and (b) illustrate what you mean.
4. Comment on things that are actionable
The whole point of giving feedback is to help the person improve.
Hence, focus on the things that the person can do something about, rather than the things that are out of his/her control. Critiquing the former makes your criticism constructive; critiquing the latter just makes the person feel bad because he/she can’t do anything about these things even if he/she wants to. You can comment on latter if it is crucial, but be sure to bring the focus back onto the things that he/she can control.
Let’s look at an example. Say your friend is in a singing competition and she has entered the finals. She asks you to critique her performance. Here, actionable critique would be talking about her overall performance, her pitch, her body language, and perhaps even her song choice.
On the other hand, talking about how her voice is too husky probably isn’t very helpful because firstly, if she can get into the finals, it probably isn’t a real “issue” to begin with. Secondly, it’s not something she can change. Thirdly, such a feedback is highly subjective. There are people who like husky voices just as there are others who prefer other kinds of voices. While you can point out things that you don’t like (e.g. if you find her voice too husky), making it central to your critique probably isn’t very helpful for her.
In another example, say your friend just started a new restaurant. He has signed a rental lease for 12 months and the location has average foot traffic. He approaches you for advice to market his restaurant.
Saying things like “change your restaurant location” isn’t helpful because the lease has been signed. You should point out the problem with the restaurant location and recommend that he consider places with high foot traffic if it’s possible to change the location, but focusing 100% of your energy to bash his poor location choice isn’t really going to help.
On the other hand, suggesting ideas that can counteract or mitigate the average foot traffic will be helpful. Actionable ideas include to invite food bloggers for food tasting, to do a media launch, to give promotional discounts, to create a buzz-worthy event to get people to visit the restaurant, and to place advertisements in lifestyle magazines.
Knowing what’s actionable and unactionable requires you to be empathetic. Understand the person’s situation and his/her objectives, then provide your critique based on that.
5. Give recommendations on how to improve
When all is said and done, give recommendations on what the person can do to improve.
Firstly, your recommendations will tie up your critique in a nice bow. Everyone has varying perspectives, which means every critique can be interpreted in different ways. Giving recommendations will give the person a clear idea of what you have in mind. Secondly, recommendations provide a strong call-to-action. You want the person to act on what you have shared, not procrastinate.
With your recommendations, I recommend to (a) be specific with your suggestions and (b) briefly explain the rationale behind the recommendation.
Example: Giving feedback on a presentation
- Weak recommendation: “The presentation is too long. Make it shorter.” — Not very helpful. Reducing the presentation time can be done via many ways — cutting down the points, removing examples, talking faster, and so on. What exactly do you mean? Part of giving constructive criticism includes being specific (see Tip #3).
- Good recommendation: “Instead of 2-3 examples per point which detracts from the main message, limit 1 example to each point. This way, the presentation is more succinct and impactful. Doing this, the presentation length will easily be reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes.” — Great recommendation that is specific. Rationale is also provided which explains your point of view to the person.
6. Keep Your Language Positive
Babuata also noted the importance of keeping your language positive, which will help set the tone of the entire exchange. For example, notice the difference between the statements, "I'd love to hear you speak up more in meetings," versus, "You don't speak up enough in meetings." One sounds way easier to take, right?
How to receive feedback
1. Stop Your First Reaction
At the first sign of criticism, before you do anything—stop. Really. Try not to react at all! You will have at least one second to stop your reaction. While one second seems insignificant in real life, it’s ample time for your brain to process a situation. And in that moment, you can halt a dismissive facial expression or reactive quip and remind yourself to stay calm.
2. Remember the Benefit of Getting Feedback
Now, you have a few seconds to quickly remind yourself of the benefits of receiving constructive criticism—namely, to improve your skills, work product, and relationships, and to help you meet the expectations that your manager and others have of you.
You should also try to curtail any reaction you’re having to the person who is delivering the feedback. It can be challenging to receive criticism from a co-worker, a peer, or someone that you don’t fully respect, but remember, accurate and constructive feedback comes even from flawed sources.
3. Listen for Understanding
You’ve avoided your typical reaction, your brain is working, and you’ve recalled all the benefits of feedback—high-five! Now, you’re ready to engage in a productive dialogue as your competent, thoughtful self (as opposed to your combative, Mean Girls self).
As the person shares feedback with you, listen closely. Allow the person to share his or her complete thoughts, without interruption. When he or she is done, repeat back what you heard. For example, “I hear you saying that you want me to provide more detailed weekly reports, is that right?” At this point, avoid analyzing or questioning the person’s assessment; instead, just focus on understanding his or her comments and perspective. And give the benefit of the doubt here—hey, it’s difficult to give feedback to another person. Recognize that the person giving you feedback may be nervous or may not express his or her ideas perfectly.
4. Say Thank You
Next (and this is a hard part, I know), look the person in the eyes and thank him or her for sharing feedback with you. Don’t gloss over this—be deliberate, and say, “I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this with me.” Expressing appreciation doesn’t have to mean you’re agreeing with the assessment, but it does show that you’re acknowledging the effort your colleague took to evaluate you and share his or her thoughts.
5. Ask Questions to Deconstruct the Feedback
Now it’s time to process the feedback—you’ll probably want to get more clarity at this point and share your perspective. Avoid engaging in a debate; instead, ask questions to get to the root of the actual issues being raised and possible solutions for addressing them. For example, if a colleague tells you that you got a little heated in a meeting, here are a few ways to deconstruct the feedback:
- Seek specific examples to help you understand the issue: “I was a little frustrated, but can you share when in the meeting you thought I got heated?”
- Acknowledge the feedback that is not in dispute: “You're right that I did cut him off while he was talking, and I later apologized for that.”
- Try to understand whether this is an isolated issue (e.g., a mistake you made once): “Have you noticed me getting heated in other meetings?”
- Seek specific solutions to address the feedback: “I’d love to hear your ideas on how I might handle this differently in the future.”
6. Request Time to Follow Up
Hopefully, by this point in the conversation, you can agree on the issues that were raised. Once you articulate what you will do going forward, and thank the person again for the feedback, you can close the conversation and move on.
That said, if it’s a larger issue, or something presented by your boss, you may want to ask for a follow-up meeting to ask more questions and get agreement on next steps. And that’s OK—it’ll give you time to process the feedback, seek advice from others, and think about solutions.
Constructive criticism is often the only way we learn about our
weaknesses—without it we can’t improve. When we’re defensive, instead of
accepting and gracious, we run the risk of missing out on this
important insight. Remember, feedback is not easy to give and it’s certainly not easy to receive, but it will help us now and in the long run.
https://personalexcellence.co/blog/constructive-criticism/
https://www.rightattitudes.com/2008/02/20/sandwich-feedback-technique/
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