How to give great feedback

How to give great feedback

Posted by Claire White ¦ Business Skills

How would you feel if you were asked to publicly present someone on stage and then give them feedback on their presentation?  Would you look forward to it with gusto or dread the thought? 

Like most things, giving effective feedback is an art form that can be learned.  The following tips have been tried and tested by hundreds of Toastmaster groups across the world and should help you get started with great evaluations.

  1. Pay really close attention to the speaker - try not to  forget what you're there to do and not get drawn into the content of the speech
  2. Always start your evaluation on a high note - it can take a lot of courage to get up and deliver a speech in public, and that alone is worthy of praise.
  3. Concentrate more on the positives - Whilst it’s important to make recommendations to the speaker and perhaps point out habits that might need some work, it's essential to balance the feedback more towards the positive
  4. Use the sandwich approach - if there are items that you'd like to gently point out, try to sandwich them between two positives.
  5. Finish on an 'up'  - ideally the speaker should go away motivated and keen to work on the points you've raised.

    Do you have any great feedback tips of your own that you'd like to share below?

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