Interactive workshop

Giving Feedback People Can Use

Practice making feedback specific, respectful and actionable.

1 hTotal time
5Sessions
4Worksheet prompts
Warm-up0:00–0:066 min

Start with the moment

Choose a useful, low-stakes situation and notice what makes feedback easier to hear.

Try it

Choose a moment to improve

6 min

Give yourself 6 minutes for this activity. The timer only runs on this page.

Set up your example

  1. 1
    Choose a situation

    Write down a recent, low-stakes moment when a task, decision or collaboration could have gone better.

  2. 2
    Keep it safe

    Remove names and private details. If the situation feels too sensitive, use a made-up example instead.

  3. 3
    Name your intention

    Finish this sentence: “I want my feedback to help the other person…”

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Concept0:06–0:1812 min

Make feedback observable

Focus on what happened and its effect, rather than guessing at motives or traits.

Read

Describe behavior, not character

12 min

Instead of “You are careless,” try: “In the draft you shared yesterday, two figures did not match the source sheet. I had to pause the review to check them.” The second version names an event and its impact without guessing why it happened.

Knowledge checkWhich opening is based most clearly on observable behavior?

Practice0:18–0:3618 min

Build a clear message

Practise a simple structure that links a specific example to its impact and an invitation to act.

Try it

Draft and deliver a feedback message

18 min

Give yourself 18 minutes for this activity. The timer only runs on this page.

Practise the message

  1. 1
    Name the example

    Start with a specific moment: “In yesterday’s planning meeting, we moved to the next topic before the risks were recorded.”

  2. 2
    Explain the impact

    Describe the consequence: “The team had to revisit the decision later to check what we might have missed.”

  3. 3
    Invite a next step

    Ask for a practical adjustment: “Could we capture open risks before we close the topic next time?”

  4. 4
    Say it aloud

    Read your draft once. Remove labels, extra examples and advice the person did not ask for.

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Practice0:36–0:5014 min

Listen and adjust

Practise responding with curiosity when someone disagrees, needs context or feels unsettled.

Try it

Make room for a response

14 min

Give yourself 14 minutes for this activity. The timer only runs on this page.

Run a listening round

  1. 1
    Read your message

    Pair up if possible. One person gives the draft feedback; the other responds as the recipient. If you are working alone, write a plausible response.

  2. 2
    Pause and listen

    Let the recipient finish. Summarize what you heard without correcting or defending your wording.

  3. 3
    Ask one open question

    Try: “What context am I missing?” or “What would make that next step workable?”

  4. 4
    Agree on an action

    State one next step, who will take it and when you will check whether it helped.

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Debrief0:50–1:0010 min

Take it into practice

Choose a small experiment and decide how you will follow up.

Try it

Make a follow-through plan

10 min

Give yourself 10 minutes for this activity. The timer only runs on this page.

Write your plan

  1. 1
    Choose one action

    Decide whether you will give feedback, ask for feedback or rehearse a conversation.

  2. 2
    Prepare the details

    Write the observable example, its impact and a genuine next-step question.

  3. 3
    Pick a moment

    Choose a suitable time and setting. Avoid raising sensitive feedback in front of an audience.

  4. 4
    Plan a check-in

    Decide how you will ask whether the agreed action helped or needs adjustment.

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My worksheet

Your reflections from every session, collected in one place. They stay in this browser.

  1. 1.1 Choose a moment to improve

    What would make this feedback useful to the person receiving it?

  2. 3.1 Draft and deliver a feedback message

    Which sentence in your draft is most likely to help the recipient decide what to do next?

  3. 4.1 Make room for a response

    What question helped you understand the response rather than prepare a rebuttal?

  4. 5.1 Make a follow-through plan

    What is one change you will make to the way you give feedback, and when will you try it?