Yes, you read that right. You should NEVER ask for honest feedback.
Asking for honest feedback sounds magnanimous, but it’s a trap.
‘Why?’ you cry!
Because if you ask for honest feedback, you might just get it…
and not in the way you’d hoped.
Worse is unsolicited honesty. You know the kind:
‘Can I give you some honest feedback?’
Erm… maybe not.
The problem is that ‘honest’ is often just a thinly veiled excuse for someone to share their opinion – not to help you improve.
So what do you do?
You ask for specific feedback.
Use this type of question instead:
1. What’s one thing I could do to improve this presentation?
Not ten things. One. Focused and actionable.
2. Was there anything in the report that wasn’t 100% clear?
That’s how you remove confusion.
3. If you had to tweak one part of this design, what would it be?
You’re permitting them to be constructive, not over-critical.
Honest feedback can create pain.
Specific feedback can create progress.
I believe receiving feedback should make you better.
And if you would like to give me some specific feedback on this message you can do so here.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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