Giving Feedback

Why? To identify blind spots and hopefully improve skills and qualities. To be constructive…not destructive Always think- why am I giving this feedback? Not just to let off steam! 2

That was rubbish! How does that help??

Feedback should be constructive not destructive!

How? Techniques… The Feedback Sandwich Pendleton’s Rules SETGO 5

The feedback sandwich “Criticism” is felt more strongly and is longer-lasting than “praise.” A ‘feedback sandwich’ is perceived by the receiver as balanced, and ends on a positive note:  Something positive you observed A suggestion for improvement Another positive point, or a positive summary  6

Pendleton What do you think you did well? What do I think you did well? What do you think you could have done differently? (and how) What do I think you could have done differently? (and how) How do you feel about this? Finish on a positive reinforcement of good consultation behaviour

SETGO What did I See? What Else did you (the observer/s) see? What do IThink about this? What Goals can we now set? What Offers have we got to achieve these goals?

Oh no! SETGO! Some people feel like this, but consider the following..... Negative feedback is perceived 4 times more powerfully than positive feedback! So model 1 & 2 are less than ideal, although both have their merits. We would all be exhausted if we had to give 4 positive points for each negative! 9

Consider Evaluative or judgmental: “The beginning was awful, you just seemed to ignore her.” 10

Consider Descriptive “At the start you were looking at the notes, which prevented eye contact.” Which is more useful? 11

Feedback on sessions Remember be constructive… We may well want speakers to come back and if they have done something in a way that doesn’t appeal to you: it may work well for someone else (remember different learning styles!) They/we may well alter how it’s done or what is covered dependant on your feedback You may know all about the subject so think it beneath you: someone else may not!

Feedback on sessions Saying “don’t just read the slides” may be hurtful: think about it if it was you and you were petrified! …. Could it be less threatening if “I was keen to ask questions: could there have been more time for this?” or “it might have been easier to understand/more interesting if we talked through some cases”

Scores…. Represent as numbers of 1s,2s,3s,4s,5s,6s… Eg as a chart (gives a better overview than average score)

Feedback on sessions If you are doing feedback: you may wish to represent “flavour” not every comment (especially if you think someone has put things in an inappropriate way!) Email to Mary Tilling + Jo and Mary V