Giving feedback on a creative strategy project can be challenging, especially if the project lacks a clear objective. How do you help the project team improve their work without being too vague or too critical? Here are some tips to guide you through this situation.
Before you give any feedback, you need to identify the problem with the project. Why does it lack a clear objective? Is it because the project team did not understand the brief, the target audience, or the desired outcome? Or is it because the project team had too many ideas and did not prioritize them? Or is it because the project team did not communicate their objective effectively? Once you pinpoint the root cause of the problem, you can tailor your feedback accordingly.
Clarify the purpose! ???? Start by asking questions to understand the project's goals ????, audience ????, and desired outcomes ????. Offer constructive feedback by suggesting specific objectives and measurable metrics ???? to guide the team toward success! ????
You can clarify the objective, provide a very constructive criticism, appreciate the collaboration, share examples, elaborate achievements, and be supportive in every regard.
Collaborate with the team to clarify the underlaying idea or thought process. By digging deeper you can combat the lack of purpose and create a collaborative vision or strategy by building on the basic idea. Use your data to determine weather the strategy aligns with the information the consumers are telling you about your brand.
Advise the team to pause and clarify the project's objective by identifying the target audience, desired outcomes, and key messages. Recommend conducting a brainstorming session to align on the project's purpose and goals. Suggest setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives to ensure clarity and focus for the project moving forward.
When you give feedback, you want to be constructive, not destructive. That means you should focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the project, not the people behind it. You should also provide specific examples and suggestions, not general opinions or judgments. For example, instead of saying "This project is boring and confusing", you could say "This project could be more engaging and clear if you used more visuals and headlines to highlight your main points".
Another way to give feedback is to ask open-ended questions that encourage the project team to think critically and creatively about their work. Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no, but require more explanation and reflection. For example, instead of asking "Do you like this project?", you could ask "What is the main message you want to convey with this project?" or "How does this project align with your brand identity and values?".
Giving feedback is not only about pointing out the flaws, but also about acknowledging the efforts and achievements of the project team. You should offer support and encouragement to the project team, especially if they are struggling or feeling frustrated. You can do this by expressing appreciation, recognition, and confidence in their work. For example, you could say "I appreciate the hard work you put into this project" or "I recognize the creativity and originality of your ideas" or "I am confident that you can improve this project with some adjustments".
Hasn't your mother ever told you, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it"? The sandwich method of feedback can be effective--layer fluffy pieces of supportive compliment bread on either side of the meat of your constructive criticism. Bread: This is such a creative idea. Meat: It seems like you just need to work out logistics around set up and delivery with the conference hall. Bread: I'm confident that a team of this caliber can work that out. That's a lot easier to swallow than: "Ok, sure, but exactly how were you planning on actually getting it there and setting it up on the trade show floor? They aren't going to allow that and it's too big anyway."
Finally, giving feedback is not a one-time event, but a continuous process. You should follow up and follow through with the project team after you give feedback, to make sure they understand your comments and implement your suggestions. You can do this by setting deadlines, milestones, and checkpoints for the project, and by providing additional resources, guidance, and feedback as needed. You can also ask for feedback from the project team, to see how they feel about your input and how they are progressing with their work.