How do you give effective feedback?

This is a question we are all faced with at some point in our development careers.

I've been asking this question over the past few months and after some research I feel like I have the answer.

If you are looking to learn to give effective feedback it's important to understand how feedback works. To understand how feedback works you need to understand the two most important pieces of feedback, Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback.

Positive Feedback: Positive Feedback is the message that gives a client / user the idea that they are on the right path or part of the problem. For example, This piece of code makes my work easier for the next person or This feature will be great for the customers. The point is that positive feedback is about being helpful. It is not Do what I say or I'll hurt your feelings. In short, it is about making a difference.

Negative Feedback: Negative Feedback is the message that tells a client or user the mistake they are making and what you think the problem is. If they continue to make the same mistake your are going to provide them with negative feedback. Negative feedback is not about being mean or being the bad guy, it is about helping the user or client understand where they are going wrong.

There are two common mistakes I have seen when giving feedback, they are trying to do too much and give too much. In this post I am only going to talk about giving effective feedback, which means it's positive feedback.

If you are trying to do too much with feedback the client is not going to take it in and it will be seen as off-putting or unhelpful. You can test this by being careful of where you give your feedback and how much feedback you give. In practice this is what I have found.

Here are the four rules for effective feedback: Rule 1 - Don't focus on the negative. Rule 2 - Don't tell them the solution. Rule 3 - Help them by giving positive feedback. Rule 4 - Let them change before you make them listen. Let's look at each rule in more detail.

What is giving and receiving feedback?

What type of feedback is best?

How often is it important to give and receive feedback? When is it useful to listen or deliver a message in a specific form rather than as dialogue? What are three practical ways to give feedback that increase the effectiveness of a communication? What are three ways to get good feedback, which may be different from the top reasons for giving feedback? What types of situations or circumstances require special kinds of feedback? How does your organization's feedback culture contribute to the overall feedback culture within an organization? Why do feedback and coaching exist? What do they do? How do coaching conversations and feedback affect performance, skills and knowledge development? What does coaching conversation require, and what are its attributes? Should a training organization include feedback as a course component, or is it best just a one-time event? How could one plan for feedback? What are the differences between formal and informal communication, and the pros and cons of each? Why is learning something about other people's views and opinions in a teaching setting called feedback? What are the components of effective feedback? How can feedback be used to improve people's performance and attitudes? Does effective performance need to be accompanied by appropriate feedback? How does a leader or someone in charge act when the organization needs feedback from other people? How does feedback work? What do different perspectives regarding how feedback works imply about its effect on employees? How can a supervisor use feedback effectively with both direct reports and peers? How might leaders use feedback to create positive employee engagement? What is effective feedback? What characteristics should be developed in the communicator, to enable effective giving and receiving of feedback? Describe feedback as a process that includes pre, during and post-action planning. What is the difference between self-assessment and objective assessment? What is critical for effective feedback? How does an instructor learn to give feedback effectively? What is the difference between self-feedback and other-feedback? How does a leader/manager use feedback in his/her role? Can you think of several scenarios in which someone else would better able to provide effective feedback than you? What are the benefits of effective feedback?