What are common feedback loops for large group facilitation?

1 Verbal feedback

Verbal feedback is the most direct and immediate way to get feedback from your participants. You can ask them questions, invite them to share their opinions, or encourage them to give suggestions. Verbal feedback can help you gauge the mood, energy, and understanding of your group, and respond to their needs and interests. However, verbal feedback can also be biased, incomplete, or dominated by a few voices. To avoid these pitfalls, you can use techniques such as polling, round-robin, or fishbowl to ensure that everyone has a chance to speak and be heard.

3 Written feedback

Written feedback is the feedback that your participants give through surveys, forms, notes, or other written methods. Written feedback can help you collect more detailed, specific, and honest feedback from your participants, and analyze it later. Written feedback can also help you document the outcomes, learnings, and recommendations of your session, and share them with your group and other stakeholders. To use written feedback effectively, you need to design clear, relevant, and concise questions, provide enough time and space for your participants to write, and follow up with acknowledgments and actions.

4 Digital feedback

Digital feedback is the feedback that your participants give through online platforms, tools, or devices. Digital feedback can help you reach a larger and more diverse audience, and use interactive and creative ways to get feedback. Digital feedback can also help you integrate feedback with other data sources, and visualize and communicate it more easily. To use digital feedback effectively, you need to choose the right platform, tool, or device for your purpose, ensure accessibility and usability for your participants, and protect their privacy and security.

5 Peer feedback

Peer feedback is the feedback that your participants give to each other, either individually or in groups. Peer feedback can help you foster collaboration, learning, and support among your participants, and reduce your workload as a facilitator. Peer feedback can also help your participants develop their communication, critical thinking, and feedback skills. To use peer feedback effectively, you need to establish clear guidelines, expectations, and criteria for giving and receiving feedback, provide training and coaching for your participants, and monitor and moderate the feedback process.

6 Self feedback

Self feedback is the feedback that your participants give to themselves, based on their own reflections, observations, and evaluations. Self feedback can help your participants become more aware, responsible, and empowered in their own learning and development. Self feedback can also help your participants identify their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, and set goals and action plans for themselves. To use self feedback effectively, you need to create a safe and supportive environment for your participants, provide them with tools and resources for self feedback, and encourage them to share their feedback with you and others.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?