How do you get specific, actionable feedback quickly?

Being a marketer, I can't stress enough on utilizing the power of feedback, especially for refining my content strategies. Be it, I crafting an ad copy for my client or strategising on a project campaign, or developing a social media post, understanding what my audience can resonate with, is the key. By asking the right questions and gathering actionable insights from my audience, I can optimize my marketing strategy to better, so that it can connect, engage, and convert with ease.

The more specific you can be the less chance of a miscommunication but be prepared to hear some things you may not like. Keep your feelings out of the discussion as much as possible.

It is important to ask specific questions that will elicit specific feedback. Avoid asking questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, or that are too general. The more specific the question, the more specific the feedback will be. “What do you like the most/least, what challenges you face, what would you change and suggest improvements to enhance your experience?” It is also important to ask follow-up questions. This will help you to clarify any vague feedback, and to get a deeper understanding of the user's experience. Finally, it is important to be grateful for the feedback that you receive. Thank the user for their time and for sharing their thoughts with you. Don’t be afraid to ask.

1. Separate people from problem 2. Asking coaching style questions. 3. Reserving reactions until they have finished. 4. Stay conscious about confirmation bias. 5. Aim for win-win.

One thing I have found helpful is to consistently engage in clear, respectful, direct dialogue with colleagues and collaborators. Ask folks exactly what you want to know and be ready for their response. If you have that foundation, it will be easier to gain quick actionable feedback when needed.

I meet lot of founders, and am generally interested in understanding their point of view on how their marketing department is doing. More often then not, this is what i hear,"Marketing is not working out for me." While this is their first level feedback, it is important to delve deeper to understand the feedback. Some questions that help: 1. What should their marketing team have done differently? 2. What are the gaps in the expected outcomes versus the actual results? 3. Can you share some anecdotes from the past few months?

To grow don't pick your "fans". Pick those that you trust and know the area of feedback well. Ask them for what they would like to see more/less of and why.

Choose people based on: Their knowledge of your work. The people you ask for feedback should have a good understanding of your work and what you are trying to achieve. This could be your colleagues, manager, clients, or even customers. Their willingness to give honest feedback. You want to ask people who are willing to give you honest feedback, even if it is not always positive. This will help you to improve your work and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Their ability to give constructive feedback. The people you ask for feedback should be able to give you constructive feedback that is helpful and actionable. They should be able to point out specific areas where you can improve, as well as offer suggestions on how to do so.

Mentors are as good as knowing how to contextualise their advice. Here are some factors that are at play when you have to decide based on someone's feedback: 1. How well they know the subject at hand? 2. What are their qualifications that enable them with knowledge? 3. Given their proximity to the topic - what biases might they garner? 4. Why do I think they have my best interest at heart in this matter? Finding answers to these questions will help contextualise the advice.

Before you seek feedback you need to have a clear audience persona. Post that you can pilot test your story and take feedback from a set of audience that best matches your audience persona. Taking feedback from known people is easy and does guide you but getting feedback from your audience will guide you the best about where you can improve your story.

I prefer face to face so I can also read their body language. When asking for a large sample then a tool that is easy to use but elicits the desired feedback is important and some people would prefer that the feedback be anonymous. However, there will always be outliers both good and bad so be prepared to throw out the low and high scores.

An alternative perspective is that while using tools for feedback collection is valuable, it's equally important to not solely rely on them. Direct, in-person discussions or one-on-one conversations can offer nuanced insights that tools might miss. Building personal relationships with collaborators and audiences can provide a deeper understanding of their reactions and emotions, leading to more authentic and resonant storytelling.

The device you work on should be your personal device where you feel safe without any fear of anyone else peeping. Use tools and apps to keep a track of drafts, notes, and references etc., and paraphrase and other related assistance. Several tools can help you with better research, and diverse feedback.

If I know who gave me the feedback, I usually report back to them with an action plan and on occasion ask them to hold me accountable. It shows that you value their effort and that you take it to heart.

After receiving feedback, go back to why you included it the way you did and then objectively think how the feedback will alter the original thought. More often than not, it is about the value that a feedback adds, and not if it makes your thought/idea any less.

Choose when you interact with feedback. Confidence is a rare commodity. You have to walk a weird, thin, line between getting what you desperately need and risking feedback that's going to take you out at the knees. Three ways you can do this: -Control the channels you receive feedback in. Never, Ever use personal social feeds for work. Ever. You need a place where you aren't working. -Control when you check work channels. I've done a lot of work with teams in different time zones. Even good feedback is going to keep you at night if you get at midnight. Also, don't check work feeds at midnight. -Sit with it. When you do get feedback, don't react right away. Give it some time, let your subconscious work. It'll take what you need from it.

Learning from feedback is one of the first steps to improve narrative skills. Build on top of existing competencies to leave a lasting impact in the minds of the listener.

People often get offended by feedback. What they should realise is that feedback is an analytical comment based on a pre-defined communication, which would potentially lead to a desirable outcome. Now if that outcome is not upto a certain standard then feedback follows. It should not be misconstrued as a personal attack. On the flip side the person giving the feedback needs to do it in a professional and respectable manner so that people don't feel attacked. If and when we learn to do this, both parties can have a strong working relationship and work toward the goal of the desired outcome

The world is such a beautiful place only because of the unique characteristics of people. If people could change then the world wouldn’t be the same place as it is today. Trust me - people never change ! Feedbacks show us the mirror. But do we want to act on them ? No ! Why ?? Because, we think we are right and correct. This is world works like this - with people not wanting to change ! Yes, one can “modulate” once reaction and behaviour with intense training. But asking for someone to change is impossible. We all would become God and this round thing where we all live called Earth would be called Heaven if we “change”. Feedbacks or self assessments or criticism or even critiquing helps but only to “modulate” certain behaviours.

It there is an area that I can improve I will evaluate the work necessary to change vs the impact it has on my overall performance. It is always good to know of your weak spots but often easier to keep improving on that you are good at or do not take as much effort to improve and get an ROI. I've known people who tried to funny yet found the effort frustrating and then they pivoted to expanding their vulnerability and minimizing the humor and found a new level of success. Sharpen the saw but sometimes you may be better with the ax.

While it is fundamental to learn from feedback, it's equally important not to react to every piece of feedback. Identify patterns, things that your stories are repetitively missing. Make a plan of small steps to take in order to achieve change. Then favour consistency over hope of genius spurs.

Couple quick thoughts. First, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to try to shortcut the work that goes into quality relationships that result in quality and meaningful feedback. While trying to pull in some quick tips or recommendations may be okay with a few well-structured, well-timed questions, genuine feedback comes from the people who know you well enough to tell you what you may not want to hear. That said, for some quick feedback, I’d highly recommend people leverage generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. If you craft some well structured prompts, it can be a great resource for feedback on how to improve your structure, stories, takeaways, and overall message. It can be a less threatening method for asking for candid feedback.

To be an effective leader and manager, just as you offer feedback to your team members, you must be open to want they can offer you. Feedback allows everyone, including you, to grow and improve which elevates the happiness and health of the workplace. Plus, it offers you the opportunity to hear the good and the bad within the organization. Offer feedback and always accept it; be open to what you hear; act on what you are told; accept it anonymously and face-to-face; watch your emotions; and lastly, be receptive, authentic, and appreciative. Don’t wait to hear it at an exit interview, since at that time it is too late.

Keep in mind that your are not your thoughts. Neither are you the words you write, the pictures you take, songs you sing (any type of storytelling you chose). You are bigger than this.

If you want to get feedback, say something outrageous, controversial, radical, thought-provoking. Be a powerful writer with something important to say. You will get feedback, not all of it positive, but often, it's the negative feedback that's more relevant.

This is a god awful time to be a creative and feedback, which is a process that often feels like being politely beaten up, is even more traumatic right now. You're okay. You're good enough. The voice telling you that isn't true is lying. I have what we call it the 'F--k It Box'. If you get feedback you hate, we start a timer that stops when you say 'F--K IT! IT'S RIGHT' and realize the feedback that annoyed you is the best feedback you've got. First time I did this, it took twelve hours. It's down to about 90 seconds now.