Asking for Feedback

Written by Laurie Wilhelm — Category: Interpersonal Relationships, Providing Feedback

This was my question to my peer when I was requesting feedback from her:

“I’ve attached the two ads that I spoke to you about when we met. If you have a moment, could you please take a look at both and give me your feedback?”

This was her response:

“I do not like either. The image looks very phony to me. But if I have to choose, I would choose the one with the special introductory offer.”

Obviously, I wasn’t clear regarding the kind of information I wanted from her; she gave me her opinion, not constructive feedback.

The purpose of constructive feedback is to provide timely, honest, useful comments and suggestions that contribute to a positive outcome, a better process or improved behaviours.

I realize now that when I’m asking for feedback, I have to ask specifically for the information I need for the purpose of improving. It’s my responsibility to guide them to provide me with the type of information that I seek to make the result better.

Ask Specific Questions, Get Specific Answers

I should have asked specific questions for feedback, such as:

Is the ad eye-catching?
Would it be seen in a sea of other ads and newspaper copy?
What could be done to make it more noticeable?
Is the wording effective?
Do some sentences flow poorly?
What could improve it?
Is the ad an appropriate size to be seen easily in the newspaper?
If not, what would be better?

Make Sure You Ask the Right Person

When considering what kind of feedback you want, let that lead you to the person who is best suited to respond. Avoid asking someone who lacks the expertise that precise area.

Understanding what it is that you want from the person giving the feedback helps them respond more effectively and provide you with the information you need to improve. Next time, I’ll ask the right questions to the right person.

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1 Comment »

Hi Laurie:

Thanks for the reminder to be more specific in making requests of others. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when other people aren’t able to “read my mind” and understand what I meant, regardless of what I actually said!

I do have one point to add.

You wrote:

When considering what kind of feedback you want, let that lead you to the person who is best suited to respond. Avoid asking someone who lacks the expertise that precise area.

Wouldn’t you want to seek feedback from a wide range of people - especially people from your target audience? For instance, if your target audience is young, urban professionals - then I think any feedback you get from this group would be valuable - regardless of their marketing expertise.

-Patrick

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Hi Patrick,

Thanks for taking the time to read my post - and for commenting. I appreciate it.

You’re absolutely right that you’d want to seek feedback from a wide range of people from your target audience, if that’s what you’re looking for and if they can provide you with constructive feedback and not just subjective opinion.

In my example, I was looking specifically for marketing expertise because that’s where I was at in this particular marketing campaign. In this case, I should have gone to a marketing professional in my network, which I didn’t do. Once the ad was the best I could make it, then I’d go to the next step and get feedback from my target audience if I chose to.

I still believe that when looking for constructive feedback, go to those best suited to provide it - and if that means young, urban professionals, that’s who you should ask. Likewise, you wouldn’t go to older, rural, non-professionals for feedback since they’re not your target audience.

What I left out of my post is that, yes, stating that the photo seemed “phony” is OK feedback. However, when I asked her to elaborate on what she meant by “phony,” so that I could get one that was “less phony,” she only responded that she simply doesn’t like stock photography. This further confirms to me that I should have asked someone who could have provided me with actionable, constructive feedback.

Thanks again for your input.
Laurie

Comment by Patrick Mathieu »