Thread by @DellAnnaLuca

I hate the usual advice of sandwiching feedback (say something good, then something bad, then something good). It created a generation of people who think they are good at giving feedback just because they're sandwiching it – with terrible results

Here is some better advice

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First of all, avoid sandwiching.

If people know about it, the moment they hear you say something good, they'll roll their eyes, think "here comes the bad part", and disconnect.

This is bad:
- it prevents listening
- they don't trust the "good part,” thus not getting motivated

Second advice: BE SPECIFIC.

Generic feedback, such as "your presentation was boring", gets taken personally thus ignored.

Instead, specific feedback, such as "there was too much text in your presentation", has more chances of being listened to.

Moreover, SPECIFIC FEEDBACK IS ACTIONABLE.

The reaction of someone hearing that his presentation is boring is: "Yes, genius. If I knew how to make it less boring, I'd already have done it."

Instead, someone hearing "there is too much text" already knows what to do next.

Because specific feedback is more actionable, it's also more likely to result in motivation rather than disengagement.

"there's too much text" (specific & actionable) is a step forward.

"it's boring" (generic and not clearly actionable) is a step back.

Third advice: listen and show up before you give feedback.

If someone never saw you around, or otherwise doesn't trust that you know his job & situation, he'll just not listen to your feedback – or he'll politely nod while wondering how long it will take for you to stop talking.

Fourth advice: give feedback that, if implemented, will bring results.

Giving feedback is a temporary trust loan. If the loan doesn’t pay back, the recipient will learn the lesson that he should ignore future feedback.

The previous point seems obvious - and yet, how many people give feedback that isn’t impactful or isn’t sufficient to bring results?

Knowing what’s the right next step to suggest is a key skill. Hard, but nevertheless important.

To summarize:

If you show up, listen, and give specific and actionable feedback that will bring results, people will listen and take action.

If you don't, people won't listen, no matter how much you sandwich your feedback.

The alternative to sandwiching is getting great at spotting when someone does something actually good, and telling him ASAP.

Instead of only mentioning the good when you notice something bad and you begin the sandwich - or, worse, when it’s time for the yearly performance review