Giving More Effective Feedback

Presented by: Ella Tshopik, University of Wisconsin

This session provided general information followed by guided discussion on the subject of both giving and receiving feedback in positive and effective ways. This include how to approach giving both good and bad feedback as well as receiving both in ways that build towards goals instead of creating resentment.

Ella opened her presentation with a short meditation exercise to help us prepare for the session. It was a very powerful start, whether or not you enjoy meditation. She then began to share with us how to give feedback that is more specific and meaningful then the “good job” we so often share. We broke into groups together to talk about examples she provided of scenarios of excellent – and poor – work behavior. It was very helpful to hear how people in the room would respond to each scenario.

Read more at: https://dl.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=3123481&ftid=1908131&dwn=1&CFID=817600433&CFTOKEN=55723475

Takeaways:

I found that this session included lots of great strategies for working with others, particularly in a support role where I feel like I’m either gently correcting or carefully encouraging users. Great to see a session that focused on soft skills, particularly since feedback is such a core function of most IT jobs. – Alexa Spigelmyer

The meditation exercise was fantastic. Ella shared with us similar resources. She also talked about how important it is to be able to accept and respond positively to feedback we receive. – Laurie Fox

I took away many points to give better feedback as well as things to remember when I am at the receiving end. I understood about mindfulness but never thought it to use in feedback. Also, discussion was very useful for me to see there are always many approaches to scenarios and we all need to keep in mind that we need to listen and find out why first before making judgement. – attendee feedback from Sched