How do you give effective feedback?

Question

Accepted Answer

Effective feedback is **specific, timely, and behavior-focused** — not personality-focused. The goal is to change a behavior while preserving the relationship, so the person leaves clear on what happened and able to act.

## Use SBI

```text
SBI FEEDBACK MODEL
SITUATION → when/where it happened ("In yesterday's design review…")
BEHAVIOR  → what they did, observable ("…you cut Sam off twice…")
IMPACT    → the effect ("…and Sam stopped contributing for the rest of the meeting.")
```

Compare: "You're rude in meetings" (vague, judgmental) vs the SBI version (specific, actionable).

## Make it land

- **Be timely** — days, not at the annual review.
- **Praise specifically too**, not just corrections.
- **End forward-looking:** "Next time, could you let people finish?"

## Pitfalls

- **The feedback sandwich** that buries the message — people only hear the praise.
- **Saving feedback for reviews**, so it feels like an ambush.
- **Feedback as personality judgement** ("you're not detail-oriented").

## Why it matters

People can only improve on things they clearly understand.

Vague feedback creates anxiety without direction.

Timely, specific feedback also normalizes feedback as routine rather than threatening — which is what lets a team improve continuously instead of dreading every conversation.