Pearls for Giving Effective Feedback

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By Azeen Sadeghian, MD, FAAD

To anyone who boldly clicked on this link, you’re not alone! Giving effective feedback may seem easy initially, but in practice it can be much harder. Constructive feedback could be seen as making negative comments which might not be well received, leading to unchanged or worsening behavior. And if we are on the receiving end, it can leave us with a bad taste in our mouths.


We desire feedback to be fruitful, for actions to change. I’m going to share something private with you. I experienced feedback gone wrong - stressful situations arising after giving feedback to employees. It made me nervous to do it again! Hence, I knew something had to change. I binged on books, talks, advice from dozens of seasoned professionals, and even sought input from HR. What can we do to offer great feedback?

  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • Focus on Private Feedback
  • Be Direct, Objective, and Specific
  • Offer a Positive
  • Receive Feedback, but Only if it's Productive
  • Ensure the Recipient is Aware of the Preferred or Desired Outcome
  • Documentation is Key

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