Receiving feedforward is one of the most effective ways to grow and perform better. However, sometimes the people around you experience a barrier to giving feedforward; for instance, out of fear of hurting you. Therefore, help yourself and those around you by actively asking for it yourself. How do you make sure you receive good and honest feedforward that you can actually use? These tips will help you towards the right feedforward questions:
- Indicate that you are looking for honest feedforward and that the other person is allowed to be critical. By doing so, you lower the threshold for the other person to give feedforward.
- Focus on the future and really ask for feedforward; don’t ask what you did wrong in the past, but rather what you can do better from now on. This will give the conversation a positive tone and you will receive concrete actions for improvement.
- Be as specific as possible; ask specific questions and name specific situations. For example, ‘how could I have written this report more clearly’ or ‘how could I have closed this morning’s meeting better?’.
- Write down what the other person says. This has 3 advantages; you remember the feedforward, you show that you take it seriously and you give the other person some time to think about what else they want to say. Often, any additional complement that then follows can be very valuable.
- Ask for feedforward on the spot; directly at the moment it is relevant. The other person then does not have to think back to a situation from long ago and can give more focused feedforward. Moreover, your own brain learns best this way.
- Obvious, but still worth mentioning; find a quiet place, or go for a walk outside. You and your interlocutor can then talk freely, which makes for a more open conversation.
Good luck!
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