Feedback People Use
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When you give critical feedback, say the standard you hold the work to and say that you believe the person can reach it, with a reason you actually have. Yeager and colleagues (2014) tested it in field experiments with seventh graders, where teachers' criticism came with a note carrying that message; a third study in a high school used a related training exercise. It is a school-based result, so applying it to adult colleagues is a practitioner translation, which this page labels as it goes.
Durable practice (not new). This is established communication practice, not a discovery or a trend.
What it fixes
The breakdown is feedback the receiver cannot interpret. A list of problems arrives, and the person has to guess your motive: that you want the work to be excellent, that you doubt them, or that you are looking for faults. When trust is low, the doubtful reading wins, and the person defends the draft or quietly stops trying.
Many managers answer this by padding criticism with praise. The study behind this page tested something else: an explicit statement of the standard and of belief that the person can meet it.
How to run it
- Decide first whether you believe the person can reach the standard. If you do not, deal with that before you give any feedback.
- Name the standard in plain terms: what the finished work has to do for the reader, the customer or the team.
- Describe the specific gaps between this draft and that standard, as observations about the work.
- State your belief that they can close the gaps, and give the reason you hold it: something they have already done that shows it.
- Offer a next step and your help with it, and agree on the day you will look at the revision.
“The standard for this report is that the board can act on it without a follow-up call. Three things stand between this draft and that. I believe you can close them, because of how you handled the vendor comparison.”
Step one carries the most weight. If you do not believe the person can reach the standard, the sentence will sound hollow, and it should not be said. Have the harder conversation about fit, support or scope first.
Say it out loud
“I'm giving you these notes because I hold this work to a high standard, and I think you can meet it.”
The sentence announces the purpose of the feedback, so it passes the disclosure test: knowing why you said it gives the listener more to go on, and the reason you attach lets them check it. Never say it when you do not mean it, and never use it to extract extra hours.
Profile translations
- Profile B When you return a direct report's draft with comments, put the standard and your belief in the first two sentences of the cover note, before the list of changes.
- Profile C On student or client work, write the sentence at the top of your comments. This is closest to the original setting, essay feedback from a teacher.
- Profile D After a lost deal, tell the rep what the standard on discovery calls is, name the two gaps you heard, and say what you have seen them do well that shows they can close them.
- Profile A When a friend asks you to read their cover letter, say that you are being direct because you want it to land, and that you think they can get it there.
How to tell it worked
- Action
- Agree a revision date before the conversation ends.
- Why
- The study's main behavioral measure was whether students turned in a revision.
- Verification
- A revision arrives by the date, or the person proposes a different date unprompted.
- Action
- Ask what they will change first.
- Why
- A specific answer shows they read the notes as information about the work.
- Verification
- They name a change that matches one of your comments.
- Action
- Listen for the next question.
- Why
- A question about how to meet the standard signals the feedback is being used.
- Verification
- They ask how to close a gap instead of defending the draft.
Failure signs: stop if you see these
- They answer “you're just saying that” or go quiet after the assurance.
- Your belief statement is a stock phrase you use on everyone.
- You raise the standard each time they approach it.
- The assurance arrives without any offer of help or time.
Why it works, and how strong the evidence is
Evidence. Three double-blind randomized field experiments, small samples, with 7th-grade students and then high-school students. One research group, one setting. Not tested with adult employees in this article. Replication status: Not reported here.
Yeager and colleagues (2014, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General) started from the idea that trust decides whether criticism is read as help or as bias. In Study 1, 44 seventh graders in a suburban middle school (22 African American, 22 White, all with B and C averages) wrote essays and received critical comments from their teachers. Each student was randomly assigned a handwritten note on the essay. The treatment note said the comments came from very high expectations and a belief that the student could reach them. The control note said only that the comments were there to give feedback.
Among African American students, the raw revision rate was 64% with the treatment note and 27% with the control note. Among White students it was 82% and 64%, a difference the authors report as not statistically significant. In Study 2 the authors report that treatment improved the quality of final drafts, and in Study 3 an attributional-retraining exercise in a low-income high school raised African American students' grades.
The limits are the authors' own: samples were relatively small, only one minority group was tested, and in the first study all the teachers were White. The authors say any benefit for White students was small and less robust. They limited the first two studies to intermediate achievers because the note could seem insincere to students with poor records. Kluger and DeNisi's 1996 meta-analysis found that feedback often fails, and that effects fall as attention moves toward the person and away from the task, so keep the comments themselves about the work. Extending this to workplace feedback is the translation on this page. No workplace test of it is cited here.
Worked example
An invented scene, offered as an illustration and not as data. A manager returns a quarterly analysis.
“This has gaps. The assumptions on page three are unsupported and the summary buries the recommendation. Fix before Friday.”
“I'm sending these notes because the board will read this closely and the bar is high. I think you can reach it: the vendor comparison you built last quarter had the same rigor. Three changes get it there: support the assumptions on page three, lead the summary with the recommendation, and cut section four. I'm free Thursday to look at the second draft.”
The second note names the standard, gives the reason for the belief, keeps the gaps about the work, and offers a time. What to watch for: if the reason is vague (“you're great”), the person has nothing to check, and the sentence reads as softening.
Frequently asked questions
What did the wise feedback study actually test?
Three randomized field experiments with adolescents, in which teachers' critical comments came with a note about their high standards and belief in the student. Students who received it were more likely to revise, per the 2014 article, with stronger effects among African American students.
Does this work for adult employees?
The studies did not test adults at work, so using it with colleagues is a practitioner translation. Try it, and use the revision and follow-up checks on this page to see what happens in your own team.
Is this the same as the feedback sandwich?
No. The sandwich wraps criticism in praise. This practice states the standard and your belief that the person can reach it, with a reason.
What if I am not sure the person can reach the standard?
Do not say it. Talk first about scope, support or fit. The authors limited two studies to intermediate achievers partly because the note could seem insincere otherwise.
How often should I repeat the assurance?
Whenever you give critical feedback, with a fresh reason each time. A stock phrase sounds like a formula, and people stop checking it.
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