You're struggling to communicate effectively. How can feedback help you improve your skills?

Think of feedback as the chisel in the hands of a sculptor. Just like constructive criticism it chips away the rough edges and refines the final masterpiece. Without feedback: - it's like sculpting blindly. - unable to see the flaws that need correction. - it's like painting with a limited palette, lacking depth and richness. Seeking feedback = inviting another brain to jump in the conversation = enriching the outcome.

Feedback is a vital tool for development in communication. It's important to seek it actively, from different sources, and always take it with an open mind ( like a Pinch of salt - whether you like it or not be ready to take it positively), ready to learn and apply the insights gained through effective feedback.

Self awareness and openness to others’ points of views is a key ingredient for growth and progress. Feedbacks can be channeled from various sources, more or less formal - mentors, colleagues, 360 degrees feedbacks, line management reviews, lessons learnt sessions, etc etc… Asking and giving feedbacks requires courage, but if we strive to create an environment where these are perceived as gifts and are given constructively, we create a virtuous cycle aimed at supporting others growth whilst maintaining psychological safety and building a culture where failure is seen as an opportunity to grow and learn. We give feedbacks because we care about others, and we receive feedbacks openly because we trust our colleagues and we want to grow.

Effective communication is a vital leadership skill. However, one cannot develop that overnight. A gradual improvement with periodic feedback will help! This feedback comes not only from peers but also from family members. Sometimes, your children can also help!

Feedback is instrumental in refining communication skills. Here are a few areas to consider exploring: ? Interruptions Or Lack Of Eye Contact: Are you aware of nonverbal cues that might be communicating the message? ? Active Listening: Are you using techniques like restating and paraphrasing to enhance understanding? ? Patience And Thoughtfulness: Do you allow for silence and contemplation before responding? ? Prejudgments: Are you focusing on the situation, issue, or behavior and not the person? Feedback is a catalyst for growth. It’s not about criticism, but about learning and evolving. Embrace it with an open mind and a readiness to adapt, and you’ll witness a marked improvement in your communication skills over time.

Feedback can be direct or indirect. Many people hesitate to seek direct feedback, primarily due to their inherent nature or egoistic attitude. The best way to get (and not seek!) indirect feedback is by using body language. However, this is a skill that one needs to proactively develop.

For lay man's understanding there are 2 simple forms of feedback, sudden & planned feedback. Depending upon your scope of improvement, behavioural traits it keeps on changing. The most loved & favourable feedback is positive feedback which showcases accomplishments & achievements. For any improvement, one should avoid negative, destructive feedback as it discourages the individual's potential. To excel on your communication skills, the best feedback is Constructive feedback as it balances the positives & negatives of an individual thereby enhancing the scope of improvement. After all, the quality of your feedback is judged on its impact & should be gentle enough like rain nurturing an individual without destroying their roots.

Feedback is a tool that can help people evaluate themselves, Feedback helps increase communication by informing the sender of what went well and what didn't, Feedback delivered positively and encouragingly can aid in developing trust between the sender and recipient.

There are different types of Feedback, such as Formal and Informal Feedback. Informal Feedback can be given or received during an unexpected moment spontaneously based on people's actions or activities. We can give Formal feedback to our teammates to improve their performance, even during the performance appraisal interviews. During training time, we're able to provide formative and summative feedback, Formative feedback per module to evaluate their module-wise knowledge. Upon completion of all the modules through a final assignment, possible to provide summative feedback. Another type of feedback is Constructive feedback. Under constructive feedback, there are four types - Positive, Negative, Negative & positive feed-forward feedback.

La retroalimentación es una herramienta poderosa que también nos permite descubrir nuestra área ciega, que según la ventana de Johari, nos lleva al autoconocimiento y eso a su vez nos permite crecer y desarrollarnos a nivel personal y profesional. Lo ideal es recibir un feedback estructurado, con sentido y lo más objetivo posible.

Feedback should be verb based, not label based. Studies by Carol Dweck, which formed the basis of her work on growth mindset, indicate that when we give feedback that is label based (You're so smart, you're so talented, etc), it will actually undermine performance. People then start looking for easier challenges so that they can receive the same label based feedback. Whereas, when we give verb-based feedback (You worked so hard, I can see all the effort you put into that), it will improve performance. So, make sure that you are using verbs instead of using labels when giving feedback.

I’ve also found what helps with giving feedback besides it being specific, clear etc., is to ask the person how do they feel about what happened. That way you help them to look inward and reflect. I use this with my daughter and it has helped her to critical think as well as reflect on her actions for further improvements.

The worth of your feedback is valued by its impact & acceptance of the same. Some criteria can improve the result of the feedback. 1. Remind yourself frequently on your objective behind providing feedback. 2. Design your feedback in writing. 3. Plan your time to discuss your recent improvements on your skills & frame the further actions. 4. In each sentence of your feedback, illustrate it with reflective examples. 5. Along with advice, provide alternatives for the communicator to decide. 6. Remember feedback is just sharing your opinion about the communicator. Make use of words (I) instead of (We). 7. Feedback should focus on the difference needed in the individual to succeed rather than focusing on something which is beyond their control.

More than the feedback itself, it's crucial to consider who is giving it to you. Constructive feedback with genuine empathy can truly make a difference in your life. And checking your own sensitivity is important too. We all have room for improvement, and accepting the not-so-good side of our communication is part of that growth. By using emotional intelligence techniques, I've been able to transform being a target speaker into an opportunity for further personal development.

One of the most important aspects of providing feedback is timeliness and specificity. Often, I encounter very general statements such as 'could have been better' or 'wasn't good enough.' Such feedback is practically useless. It is very helpful when you mention specific situation or behaviour. Sometimes, it's not possible. In such cases, it's useful to rely on a shared and communicated value, standard, or compare the achieved outcome with the expected one. Preparation is simply crucial.

It bothers me when people say “accept feedback without getting defensive” as though it’s that simple. When we feel vulnerable it can be hard not to go to fear. But here is what helped me: 1. Feedback is not the truth. The truth is subjective. Your truth and someone else’s truth can be (and often are) different. 2. Seek to understand before being understood. If it doesn’t feel true for you, go in with questions. Reflect what you’re hearing to make sure you understand correctly. In reality, not all feedback is given with skill, and while you can’t control what others tell you, you can work on your reaction.

Giving/receiving feedback is an art which is an added advantage for professional growth to excel your communication skills. Being empathetic, adaptable, flexible, concise are additional skills in streamlining feedback process. Empathy is the soul of a feedback which builds positive relationships, understanding abilities between the provider & recipient of the feedback. Adaptability & flexibility fosters mindset growth, encourages new thoughts & consistently challenges once own process & assumptions which proves feedback as effective. Time is a scarce resource, So being concise enables only productive discussions to happen during the feedback process.

A major advice to give feedback is: Give it timely. And at the same time the way we give feedback is essential - and that often needs some preparation. One approach that I find eye-opening is strength-based feedback. What if a critical feedback would look at the underlying strength that was used too much or too little? This requires definitely some thoughts in advance - but can make a huge difference. Giving strength-based feedback makes it easier to embrace and act on it. Isn't that we we are aiming for when giving feedback?!

Providing/ receiving feedback is tricky. While providing feedback sometimes one can be indirect which is not useful for the receiver to act upon it. While on other occasion, if the feedback is too direct, it can be offensive for the receiver. It is also difficult to provide negative feedback and sometimes we try to conceal the negative feedback by adding 1 or 2 positive feedbacks. However, it can be misleading to the receiver as it can give a feeling to the receiver that he/she is doing good in overall. Instead we should ask the receiver on what kind of help/ assistance is require in improving on a particular skill(s).

As principais habilidade no feedback s?o: Escuta ativa Capacidade de relacionar situa??es práticas a desenvolver, sem ferir emocionalmente a outra pessoa Se colocar no lugar do outro e mostrar que o objetivo é o desenvolvimento do colaborador e n?o uma situa??o pessoal.

Feedback may present challenges for communication skills, including inconsistent or contradictory feedback, negative or demotivating comments, or a lack of feedback. Overcoming these hurdles involves seeking input from diverse sources to identify patterns, responding positively and constructively even when disagreeing, and expressing gratitude for the feedback. Proactively and regularly asking for feedback, along with clearly communicating your communication goals and expectations, helps address challenges and fosters a constructive feedback culture. Adapting a proactive and open approach allows for continuous improvement and mitigates potential difficulties associated with feedback.

When receiving feedback above all remember to take what you find useful and discard the rest. Consider: ?? the tone in which it’s delivered ?? the source ?? their intention ?? the theme (have you heard this before?) Ask questions for clarification when needed. A growth mindset stays curious. Mindfulness can teach us to receive feedback without judgment - of the other person, or ourselves.

Feedback in the right way with the right intent is always positive. The fact someone’s taken time to provide ‘constructive feedback’ for the right reasons is beneficial. I used to hear the term “help them up or help them out!!” I’d ALWAYS help people up, as feedback in the wrong way for wrong intentions can impact how someone feels about themself, their job, relationships, MH and have a long-term impact. If feeding back, be honest and factual, keep opinions out where possible. How provide feedback can impact how receptive people are to act or how receptive they are to you in the future. If for the right reasons people can grow and feel safe knowing they have an ally trying to communicate and be the best they can to grow.

People need to have a growth mindset to receive feedback. Though we recived concise and clear feedback, if we're unable to take the feedback with a positive mindset it will lead to low self-esteem. According to the researchers, many people have a fear of failure, so, if a person is bombarded with too much feedback at the same time will lead to low self-worth.

I would say the area that is often neglected when giving feedback is the amount of blame in the air when it is being delivered. A lot of people have either hidden agendas/grudges and this comes across in their delivery. Corporate politics can also heavily influence the manner in which feedback is offered (and received). The advice I give me coaching and corporate clients is to get better at becoming aware of this aspect before they communicate. They need to get better at being self-honest to see if they are getting blame off their chest rather then getting the main point across. The better they get at this skill, they automatically become more empathetic. This makes feedback constructive, rather than a means to bring up defensive walls.

When receiving feedback, show vulnerability by being open to criticism without defensiveness. Acknowledge that you're not perfect and that feedback helps you grow. Also, genuinely thank the feedback-giver for their insights, showing that you value their perspective and effort. This fosters trust and encourages honest communication.

Effective communication is also about understanding. One of the ways to gain understanding is through questions. This may be an approach many shy away from because we don’t want to look a certain way. However, I’ve learned that questions aid in building clarity. Questions are also good because socialization influences how we interpret words. What may mean one thing for one person could mean something else for the other. This is a space often taken for granted. So, questions are a great tool to implement for effective communication. It creates space to learn and grow.

Practice being fully present in your interactions by centering your attention on the current moment. Use the rhythm of your breath as a simple and constant anchor to ground yourself. When engaged in conversations, allow this mindful presence to guide your active listening – genuinely absorb what others are saying without letting your mind wander. By weaving mindfulness and active listening together, you cultivate a deeper connection and understanding in your interactions.

Generationally, there are differences in feedback frequency and desire. Generally speaking, Boomers and Gen X don't actively seek feedback, don't generally expect spontaneous feedback and aren't frequently expecting to give feedback outside of scheduled times. Millennials and Gen Z crave more frequent feedback, to gather more information, to gain insights and approval/correction in real time rather than waiting through long periods of feedback silence. There is no right or wrong, other than when leaders calibrate their feedback delivery to the needs of their individual team members, it builds stronger teams and emotionally intelligent teams that communicate and work well with clear expectations.

Siempre un buen feedback aportará de manera impresionante al desarrollo de un colaborador. Las buenas prácticas indican que se debe empezar primero resaltando los skills que mejor maneja una persona para luego continuar con los que necesita mejorar. Un buen feedback debe venir acompa?ado de un caso real sucedido, establecer un plan de acción que incluya una fecha y controles periódicos para q de esta forma el feedback no sea solo una charla sino que se transforme un PDI o plan de desarrollo individual.