How do you manage feedback expectations and deadlines with your clients and stakeholders?

1 Define the scope and timeline

Before you start working on your media production project, you need to have a clear agreement with your client and stakeholders on the scope and timeline of the work. This means defining what you will deliver, how you will deliver it, when you will deliver it, and how much you will charge for it. You also need to specify how many rounds of feedback you will accept, how long each round will take, and how you will handle changes or additions that are outside the original scope. Having a written contract or proposal that outlines these details can help you avoid misunderstandings and disputes later on.

2 Establish the feedback channels and methods

Another important step is to establish the feedback channels and methods that you will use with your client and stakeholders. How will you share your work with them? How will they provide their feedback to you? What tools or platforms will you use to communicate and collaborate? For example, you might use email, phone, video call, online review platform, or project management software. You should also agree on the format and style of the feedback. For example, you might prefer written comments, verbal suggestions, or annotated screenshots. Whatever feedback channels and methods you choose, make sure they are clear, consistent, and accessible for everyone involved.

3 Set and manage expectations

One of the biggest challenges of managing feedback is to set and manage expectations with your client and stakeholders. You want to make sure that they understand your creative vision, your technical limitations, your quality standards, and your professional ethics. You also want to make sure that they respect your time, your expertise, and your boundaries. To set and manage expectations, you need to communicate frequently, openly, and respectfully with your client and stakeholders. You need to explain your rationale, justify your decisions, and provide evidence for your claims. You also need to listen to their feedback, acknowledge their concerns, and address their issues.

4 Follow a feedback loop

A feedback loop is a process of receiving, reviewing, and responding to feedback in a structured and systematic way. This process helps you improve your media production project, satisfy your client and stakeholders, and avoid unnecessary delays or conflicts. Generally, a feedback loop involves four steps: sharing your work with the client and stakeholders to ask for feedback; collecting their feedback and organizing it; analyzing the feedback to identify main themes, issues, and priorities; and implementing their feedback and making the necessary changes or improvements. You can repeat this cycle until you reach the final version of your media production project.

5 Handle feedback challenges

Even if you follow the previous tips, you might still encounter some feedback challenges. For instance, feedback might be vague, contradictory, irrelevant, or unrealistic. You could also face feedback that is too late, too frequent, or too harsh. To handle these feedback challenges without compromising your work or relationship with your client and stakeholders, it's important to clarify vague feedback by asking for more details. You can negotiate contradictory or irrelevant feedback by explaining your point of view and trying to find a middle ground. Educate your client and stakeholders about the technical or creative aspects of your work if the feedback is unrealistic or uninformed. When faced with too late or too frequent feedback, prioritize the most important or urgent feedback and ignore or postpone the rest. Finally, if the feedback is too harsh or disrespectful, respond calmly and professionally without taking it personally or defensively.

6 Appreciate and learn from feedback

Finally, remember that feedback is not only a challenge but also an opportunity. Feedback can help you improve your work, learn new skills, discover new perspectives, and build trust and rapport with your client and stakeholders. Therefore, you should appreciate and learn from feedback, even if it's not always positive or easy to hear. You should thank your client and stakeholders for their feedback, show them how you incorporated it into your work, and ask them for their satisfaction and approval. You should also reflect on your feedback experience and identify what you did well and what you can do better next time.

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?