Question about changing my approach to asking for feedback

I used to just ask people 'how did I do?' after a presentation and get vague answers like 'fine' or 'good'. That changed 3 months ago when I started asking specific questions like 'what part of my intro felt confusing?' or 'did the third point make sense?'. It forced people to give me real stuff instead of polite nods. Now I get honest critiques that actually help me improve. Has anyone else found that framing questions differently gets better answers?

3 comments

3 Comments

derekward16d agoMost Upvoted

My friend Carol used this trick after a board meeting where her boss just said "fine." She asked him "was the budget slide too crowded?" and got three paragraphs of actual notes back.

danielhenderson16d agoTop Commenter

The thing about that specific framing is it works because you're not just asking for feedback, you're giving them permission to critique something that wasn't even on the table. Like when Carol asked about the budget slide being too crowded, she basically handed her boss a reason to say something negative without worrying about being mean. Most people hate giving vague compliments because they feel fake, but they'll jump at the chance to point out a tiny flaw you've already identified. I've seen the same thing work with a buddy who closes his emails with "let me know if the numbers in the third row don't add up" and suddenly his clients start replying with paragraphs of actual corrections instead of just "looks fine.

leo61216d ago

Frame your questions so they can't just say "good." Asking about something specific forces people to actually think. That's the whole trick right there, and it works every time.