Feedback Strategies

Here are the articles I found most helpful about providing constructive criticism.

How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk: This was an easy read that helps you figure out some key pointers in giving better feedback. While there are others that go into more detail, this provides a nice overview of the process. It breaks better criticism down into a few high-level pointers. Explain why you're giving feedback, take yourself off a pedestal, ask if the person wants feedback, and have a transparent dialogue, not a manipulative monologue. By taking these alone into account, you'll already have a better idea of how constructive criticism can be done. From my experience, being able to have a conversation about feedback instead of just having it told to me has helped that criticism really make an impact on me.

The Difference Between Praise and Feedback: One common trend I've noticed throughout college when it comes to peer reviews is that sometimes it's hard to find valuable feedback. A lot of times, people talk about how "you're doing great!" and that you should "keep it up like this." It's hard to know what needs improvement when people don't take the time to let you know and just say how well you're doing. This article breaks down how praise is received and how it affects us. One way that is very helpful that this article mentions is asking questions about the thought process. This may not seem like feedback, but it helps someone think back about how they reached a conclusion.

Feedback