Feedback a Part of Communication Skills

Feedback a Part of Communication Skills

Feedback can also be reinforcing. If given properly,
feedback is almost always appreciated and motivates
people to improve. Honest feedback can also strengthen
the credibility of the  educator.
However, it is also important that feedback is given in a
supportive and encouraging way, so that the student does
not feel constantly criticised, afraid and tense.
There are a number of guidelines toward giving feedback
effectively, i.e. so that it can be used constructively rather
than incurring overly defensive reactions.

• Be Specific: Feedback should highlight specific
events or examples rather than just general advice.
It should also be specific about what the person
did. (Avoid generalizations i.e. words such as
‘never’, ‘always’, ‘all’ etc).

• Offer a solution: Feedback should suggest ways of
resolving any problems. There is little or no point in
offering negative feedback where there is no way
that a person can improve.

• Deliver the feedback face to face.

• Be sensitive: This is simply a reminder that
feedback, even negative feedback, should be
delivered in a positive way rather than simply
attacking the other person.


• Be problem oriented, not people oriented:
Feedback should focus on issues, not the person
since the individual usually has little control over
personality. It is important that we refer to what a
person does rather than to what we think he is.
(Thus we might say that ‘the patient’s fears about
the procedure were not listened to and addressed
by the student’ rather than calling the student
’insensitive’).

• Be descriptive, not evaluative: People more readily
receive information if the sender describes what
happened and communicates the personal effect it
had, as opposed to evaluating its goodness or
badness, rightness or wrongness.

• Own rather than disown the feedback. Use "I have a
problem with your work", not "others have been
complaining".

• Check with the other, that they understand what
has been said. Check whether they are willing and
able to accept it. One way of checking
understanding is to have the receiver try to rephrase
the feedback. No matter what the intent, feedback
is often threatening and thus subject to
considerable distortion or misinterpretation.

• Be open to hear new and possibly disconfirming
information: Non-verbal behaviours such as tone of
voice, facial expression, posture and gestures, as
well as choice of words are crucial here.

• Be Validating, not invalidating, and supportive. It is
important to acknowledge the other person's
uniqueness and importance.

• Feedback should be helpful to the receiver and
directed toward behaviour which the receiver can
do something about. A person gets frustrated when
reminded of some shortcoming over which he has
no control. Ideally feedback should be solicited, not
imposed.

• Feedback is useful when well timed (soon after the
behaviour; depending, of course, on the person's
readiness to hear it, support available from others,
and so forth). Excellent feedback presented at an
inappropriate time may do more harm than good.

• It involves the amount of information the receiver
can use rather than the amount we would like to
give. To overload a person with feedback is to
reduce the possibility that he may be able to use
what he receives effectively. When we give more
than can be used, we are more often than not
satisfying some need of our own rather than helping
the other person.


• Feedback should be regular.
• It should be reciprocal.
• It should include recommendations for
improvement.
• It should deal with decisions and action rather than
assumed intentions or interpretations.
• It should be based on information which is objective
by first hand observation.