We’ve talked about feedback a couple of times before here – the SBI model for structuring your feedback and also handling upsetting feedback. Both cases are mostly about “negative” feedback. Today, I want to talk about something a bit more exciting: giving “good” feedback!

👍 When you should be giving “good” feedback.

It’s really important for us to all get a healthy dose of praise. Hearing that we’re performing well, hitting the mark, and having a great impact on others helps us to do more of what’s working, and also it can offset the jolt of “painful” feedback.

The numbers vary a bit depending on where you look online, but consensus is that humans need about 5 pieces of positive feedback for every 1 negative.

Even if you aren’t a manager, you should be sharing your feedback with your teammates and other people – especially if you have something kind to say!

💕 Giving useful, positive feedback.

Similar to “constructive” feedback, positive feedback is only really useful when it isn’t generic. Focusing on what others specifically did and the impact it had (there’s that SBI model again!) is much more effective.

Consider these two bits of post-presentation feedback:

This is kind, but generic. It doesn’t give the presenter anything that they could repeat again in the future for great results, but it does make them happy!

This is still kind, but is also constructive in a way that makes it more personal and useful. It clearly demonstrates that it’s genuine praise (since it’s not generic), but also gives the presenter guidance on what they specifically did well.

🥪 This is no excuse for a sandwich!

You probably have heard of the feedback sandwich before: you sandwich your negative feedback between two pieces of positive feedback. It sounds like a good idea, because it cushions the negative feedback – but the feedback sandwich is not good practice!

In actuality, using the sandwich method to give feedback makes your positive feedback look disingenuous. It’s like you’re only giving it so you can deliver the negative. And it also muddies the message – your feedback recipient is now processing three pieces of feedback instead of the one you want them to focus on.

Remember that while it’s important to share frequent positive feedback, you don’t need to sandwich it! Let it shine on its own.

There’s no excuse to avoid giving others praise, so if you haven’t given any this week, consider this your reminder! Try to make it specific so that it can be uplifting and constructive.