Conveying
and absorbing feedback
Since time
immemorial, man has come up with several innovations that have advanced the
standards of living to pinnacles that were previously unimaginable. This has
been made possible by a myriad of factors but one key step that has been part
of the success of the communication of ideas and the expression of innovations
has been the effectiveness of conveying feedback and its absorption.
Understanding
feedback
The
academics at Oxford University Press (2012) agree that feedback is information
given in response to a product, a person’s performance of a task and is used as
a basis for improvement. Improvement? Yes! Through feedback, an individual can
lay the foundation for their self improvement. Self improvement translates to
self-empowerment and self empowerment is a celebration of freedom, after all,
it’s all about freedom.
Feedback is
a product of an open system and an open approach that indicates current
performance against set standards. It involves a critical assessment or the use
of suggestions aimed at improving performance.
Through the
varying conversations and interactions that one has in different setups, be it
in the public spheres, at the work place, at college, places of worship or in
the community, the process of feedback is taking place. As a result, it is
pertinent for one to realize the need to engage in avenues that foster the
transformation of that feedback into a useful resource for character building
and reputation boosting.
The modern
world which we inhabit has experienced a shift to an era where one’s image is
everything. As such, one should create avenues that enable the transmission of
feedback so that the process of communication becomes full circle and not a one
way route like traffic.
Why engage
feedback?
Feedback is
vital, at the workplace, at school, in the community and areas of worship and
most importantly at the individual level where it only makes sense in this
present-day in age to treat oneself as a brand. Through feedback, one is able
to receive feedback as an output and return it to its input in order to
regulate future outputs. In simple terms, feedback can be used as a resource
for one to better themselves and it grossly fuels self improvement.
Types of
feedback
There are
different types of feedback. Namely, constructive feedback which aims to let
people know how they are performing and negative feedback normally
characterized by unkind comments or a negative response to something as well as
constructive feedback which builds up on something under analysis through
positive criticism as well as destructive feedback which tends not to be
truthful and leads to an individual having a fabricated impression about
something under analysis. Feedback can also be positive and this often
motivates and encourages the person receiving feedback.
How do you
enhance feedback?
Take a deep
breath, calm yourself down, learn to give feedback impartially and receive it
without a sense of being subjective. Communicate objectively with your
colleagues and companions to build ‘goodwill and better friendship’. Ask
yourself as you relate to others ‘is it the truth?’ Subtract emotion and
instead use wisdom, because when it speaks - experience teaches!!!
Cease
looking at conveyors of feedback as enemies and inculcate a culture of
separating people from the statements they say.
Strive not
to be emotional about feedback, instead separate the subject from the person
relaying it.
Once again,
take a deep breath, the statement you are about to utter might change someone’s
lifestyle and decisions!!!
When
relaying feedback, have a partner help you in demonstrating how you want
something done, in an objective manner without any intention of killing
character or finding blame. The blame game normally ends with a torn
relationship. Make a person understand, do your utmost to make a person
understand and not condemned, it defeats the purpose of feedback to point
fingers.
Learn to
attack the act and not the person, try saying the same thing from different
angles. Study the people whom you want to relay or obtain feedback from and
appreciate the golden rule, after all, people are different and this translates
to a need for them to be treated differently.
Learn to
give positive feedback.
You can
show application of how this article has helped you out by giving me feedback
on it!!!
Bio
Ernest
Mackina is an amateur photographer, blogger and poet from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe . For
more of his articles log his blog UntitledChronicles (www.mackinaernest54.blogspot.com and www.untitledchronicles.wordpress.com) and get
to read more of his “handwritten thoughts...”
Pictures courtesy of seldirect.com, recognisethisblog.com; globalbusinesscafe.com
