In this blog, we will take you through 7 essential qualities of effective feedback.

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Feedback is a term that we hear on a daily basis. May you be shopping on Amazon or accessing a service from any random website, popups like “leave your feedback” are at the end of every user experience. 

That makes us wonder why every seller/service provider/creator places so much significance on receiving feedback. The answer is quite simple; through feedback, one can find the scope for improvement. Feedback allows one to understand the expectations or requirements of their target audience and cater to them effectively. And we all know how customer satisfaction is the building stone of every business. 

So, feedback is a trope using which one could improvise and build products/services that their target audience would like to invest in. 

But that being said, not all feedback serves this purpose. Not all feedback is constructive or effective and the ones which don’t fall into this category are to be ignored. Simply because they have nothing of value that could help you improve. 

So, the question here is how do you draw the lines between effective feedback and ineffective ones. To help you out, from our experts at Graphy, here are the 7 essential qualities of effective feedback. 

Look for these qualities in every feedback you receive and you will be able to filter the effective ones and use them to your benefit. 

Let’s have a look at what these essential qualities are. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Essential attributes of effective feedback

Effective feedbacks are specific and not generic 

One essential element of effective feedback is that it should be specific and not vague or generic. Simply because a generic one is of no value. For instance, let’s consider one generic feedback:

 “I didn’t like your painting.”

This simply sounds like criticism without any constructive value attached to it. There is nothing useful that comes out of a statement like this other than making you feel bad about your work. The scope for improvement that feedback is meant to bring to the picture is missing here. 

Whereas specific or targeted feedback allows you to look at your work from a different perspective and see what else you could have done to add value to it. For instance,

 “I think you could have chosen a better colour palette for your painting.”

This is a fine example of effective feedback. Why? It provides food for thought. It gives you a glimpse into the specific aspect of your work that you can improve. Therefore, it serves a functional value. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Effective feedbacks are always constructive

There is a huge difference between constructive and destructive feedback. While constructive ones help you find the aspects you lack and polish your skills, the latter bring down your confidence and make you feel bad about your work. We already know which ones to stay clear of. 

For example, 

“Did no one teach you how to interact with your clients?”

This statement is a clear instance of destructive feedback. The only thing such a statement does is bring down the morale of the one at the receiving end. 

Whereas, feedback like, “You should adopt a more formal tone when interacting with your clients.”, helps you identify your mistakes and find the right path, which makes it effective. 

So, one other essential quality of effective feedback is that it should be constructive. It could be:

  • Praise
  • Criticism
  • Suggestion
  • Reflective question
  • Advice

It could be anything that helps the person receiving it improve, identify their weakness or help them utilise their strengths. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Feedbacks are always honest

Effective feedback could be both positive and negative but they should always be honest because if someone is asking for your feedback, they will take it seriously. 

So, every time you tell your friend or colleagues how amazing their work is, even though there are certain elements you didn’t like, you are taking away their chance at improvement. And this doesn’t count as being supportive. 

That being said, an essential quality of effective feedback is that it should be honest and straightforward and not sugar-coated. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Effective feedback is always positively phrased 

While the content of the feedback can be both negative and positive, the language should always be positive. The tone and language decide the impact it will have on the receiver. 

Blunt feedback like: “Your presentation was boring.” can never be effective because all it will do is bring down your confidence. Rather than helping you improve it will question your ability to do something. 

On the other hand, constructive, specific and positively phrased feedback like: “You could have used evocative language to make your presentation more interesting.”, delivers your intent in a rational tone. Such feedback is often taken more seriously and also helps you improve yourself. 

So, one other essential quality of effective feedback is that it should be positively phrased and not come across as mean or destructive.

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Effective feedbacks are well-informed 

Your feedback is effective only when you have proper knowledge about the subject concerned. For instance, you cannot say a blog is not impactful if you aren’t aware of what an impactful blog looks like. Such statements don’t really have any functional value and can therefore never be considered effective feedback.

Effective feedback always comes from a position of knowledge and that is why your seniors at work or your professors tend to be the most capable of giving you the best feedback. 

Or if you are an online educator, your students are in the best position to give feedback regarding your methodology or curriculum. Because they have first-hand experience in your course and this experience ensures that their feedback is well-informed. We know this and that is why at Graphy, all course creators could add features like public forums or review sections to their courses. Using these features, you could gather valuable input regarding your course. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Effective feedbacks are future-oriented

Effective feedback doesn’t just dwell on your past mistakes but tells you how to improve. Let’s consider one general feedback:

 “You ruined your course by adding too many modules to it.”

Other than making you feel bad about the work you have done, this particular feedback doesn’t serve any other purpose. On the other hand, 

“Next time you build a course, try to cut down the modules to make it more engaging and interesting.”

This feedback is capable of guiding you in the right direction and stopping you from committing the same mistakes in the future. And therefore a valuable one. Such future-oriented feedback will: 

  • Help improve your performance. 
  • Help incorporate new skills.
  • Help look at your work from a different angle
  • Motivate you to perform better. 

So, to sum it up, effective feedback should always be future-oriented and if it doesn’t help you find the right path then they are of zero value. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Effective feedback is based on the work and not the person

Feedback is not an attack but your personal review of a work, product or service. So, you should never target the person through your feedback but address the product itself. Feedback like “I didn’t expect this from your course” or “I expected a better job from someone like you” is a direct criticism that questions the other person’s ability or potential. It doesn’t simply have anything to do with their work. And also, such feedback is not constructive or specific. 

So, to make sure that what you are saying is effective feedback and not merely a judgemental statement you have to make sure that you are directly talking about their course, content or artwork and not questioning their abilities. And that is one other essential quality of effective feedback. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

To sum it up:

Now that you know the 7 essential qualities of effective feedback, you can easily distinguish effective feedback from ineffective ones. So, if as an online creator, a lot of feedback comes your way, you can easily filter out the ineffective ones and pave the way for your personal improvement. 

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!

Make way for effective feedback as an online educator with Graphy!

If you are an online educator, you must always be looking for a scope of improvisation. We bring that scope closer to you with our public forums and review sections. Here your students could come in and share their valuable insights or feedback. 

So, build and launch your course with Graphy and make sure that it has all the features that could come to both your aid and that of your students. 

The 7 essential qualities of an effective feedback

I want to teach online

Got Your Content Ready? GRAPHY is all you need to get started!