Feedback Strategies

Person Praise VS Process Praise

Last week I learned about feedback and how to take negative feedback and turn it into something positive. Being capable receiving negative feedback constructively can prove vital in a person's development in their work or social life. This week we are learning more about how to deliver feedback in the most appropriate way. There are many ways to give effective feedback, offering praise or encouragement is always good, but to give the most effective feedback one must go into more detail about moving forward. You can do this by simply asking questions, giving constructive suggestions and pointing out any issues you believe can be fixed. 

 

In the article written by Anya Kamenetz, "The Difference Between Praise and Feedback", she touches on the promotion of a fixed mindset and how that can hold a person back from engaging in any sort of challenge. Praising traits can lead people to believe that their talents are fixed and that they no longer have to work for their skills. Carol Dweck, the author of the book Mindset believes in the effects of process praise which is defined as, praise that emphasizes the work, effort, or action of the child. Using this method of process praise rather than person praise can encourage people to concentrate on their efforts and strategies. 

Dweck states "Praising strategies and improvement gives them actionable information and a reason to try hard". Although receiving positive feedback is satisfying, I believe that if you can master the skill of delivering process praise you will go a long way towards helping the person you are giving feedback to. I can personally relate to this as I recall working with an old manager from my store. He was brilliant at handing out positive process feedback in such a way that anybody that receives his feedback will leave feeling good and wanting to work just as hard or if not harder the next time.

In another reading "How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk" they talk about some of the possible ways you can deliver bad feedback. They have added a list containing four tips on giving feedback. One of the things listed was to ask if the person wants feedback. This statement may seem obvious and simple but it is certainly effective as people will rarely say no to feedback especially if they feel your doing it for their benefit. Opening with this can make it easier for you to be more open and honest in your feedback. In the article the author mentions that another way to gain the trust of the person receiving your feedback is to open with something like  "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them". This can make the person feel less attacked by your feedback and more so that you have their best interests at heart and believe in their abilities. 

Going forward in my education and work life I will make a conscious effort to deliver feedback of all sorts to the best of my ability using the knowledge I have attained in these readings. These articles can also be useful to learn in giving feedback in my personal life. I believe this will prove valuable to the personal development of myself and the people around me and I also look forward to putting different techniques and strategies like process praise feedback to use.

Image Source-

"Person Praise VS Process Praise" https://www.pinterest.ie/pin/466967055107472297/

Article Source-

 "The Difference Between Praise and Feedback"  https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/34778/the-difference-between-praise-and-feedback

"How To Give Feedback Without Sounding Like A Jerk"  https://heleo.com/adam-grant-give-bad-feedback-without-jerk/8968/