Posted on: 06 May, 2002
Author: Kathy Gates
Successful feedback is usually associated with improvingemployee productivity, but feedback is not just forsupervisor-employee relationships. Being able to deliverhonest, constructive feedback is also... Successful feedback is usually associated with improvingemployee productivity, but feedback is not just forsupervisor-employee relationships. Being able to deliverhonest, constructive feedback is also vital to healthyrelationships at home.You give feedback to your children, spouse, friends,doctor, and even your hair stylist.If you run a home based business, you also need to beable to give effective messages to suppliers, customers,marketers, and web-site designers, just to name a few.Being unable to give feedback successfully could set youup for feeling taken advantage of, frustrated, under-appreciated, and overwhelmed.Putting these methods into practice will help you providehonest communication that will protect your time andneeds, yet even improve your relationships.1. Successful communication requires that you get theother person's full attention. Plan your discussion at atime when both parties can focus on the situation. Askingyour teenager to rethink the way she's spending hermoney while she's got a rented movie and friends in theother room is guaranteed to be ignored. Telling anemployee to redo a report as you rush out to a meeting isalmost always going to generate hurt feelings. Choose aquiet time, and schedule enough time so that you don'tfeel obliged to rush through the conversation.2. Successful communication is on-going, not an out ofleft-field ambush. When someone does something great,don't assume they know how you feel. Tell them! Thesame is true for when you need to correct a behavior."May I make a suggestion" are very valuable words foran on-going dialogue of behavior.3. Successful communication focuses on behavior, notpersonalities. People will always respond more readily tofacts than fault-finding. Don't make it personal. Alwaysavoid sarcasm or insults. Whether it's negative or positivefeedback, connect it to specific examples, which will helptake the focus off the individual and highlight thebehavior instead. Tell him exactly what he did that wasnot acceptable, or in the reverse help him to continueappropriate behavior by praising his accomplishments.4. Successful communication will motivate, notdiscourage individuals. We all feel the need to hear fromothers how we are doing. It's a basis for communicationand trust. A discussion resulting in an exchange of ideasand information is always a powerful motivator.Knowing what actions you want, what your goals are, andhaving a method to give them to you will motivate peopleto please you. Motivated people have specific goals andlook for ways to achieve them, and efficiency is a naturalresult of that.5. Successful communication focuses on one thing at atime. Be specific. If you are giving negative feedback, bedirect about what the problem is, stick to the topic, andavoid dragging in other problems. Instead of telling yourteenager that you've been proud of her attitude lately,compliment an exact time she was willing to dosomething without a fuss. Instead of saying "Hey Chuck,nice work on that project", try "Hey Chuck, I reallyappreciate you working so closely with XYZ Vendor toget that equipment delivered on time".6. Successful feedback focuses on things the individualcan do something about. Feedback concerning mattersthat are out of the individual's control is not useful. Itonly increases a person's frustration to be criticized forsomething they can't do anything about. Reprimandingyour teenager for spending too much time on anassignment is unfair since she can't control her teachers'requests. Expecting your associate to write a businessletter the same way you would is impossible since hecan't read your mind.7. Successful communication offers solutions. Whenyou must give negative feedback to someone, alwaysfocus on what corrective action they can take. Be willingto give them the support and tools needed to correct thesituation. Discuss the options, or explain the rules andclearly define the consequences. The objective ofsuccessful communication is to help the person view theinformation as an opportunity to learn, instead of a threat.By offering specific examples, you will be able to relatehow changing his behavior will help him achieve hisgoal.8. Try using the "feedback sandwich". A feedbacksandwich is a language tool that assists you in givingclear and specific messages in an acceptable way. Beginwith a specific praise, then your constructive advice usingthe tools above, then additional praise. It's veryimportant that your acknowledgments be true about theindividual, not just general positive statements. Article Tags: Successful Communication Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com