What is feedback? Learn to boost motivation

He feedback It is more than just the information that comes to us from others about how we are doing our work.. Its purpose is (or should be) to provide us with positive help to improve, to provide us with concrete data with which to boost our motivation. This art, this skill is indispensable in all sectors: education, work, relationships…

It is very possible that more than one person will be bothered that we use an Anglo-Saxon term and not its translation into our language. In psychology, it is common to use words from other languages ​​to designate certain concepts. However, sometimes, as is the case of feedbackit is very useful to use this word because in itself it includes multiple meanings.

Feedback It is information and it is motivation. It is energy and it is communication. It is the desire to improve and the drive to learn. Feedback It is the authentic desire to offer strategies to another person so that they find the necessary drive to improve. We cannot, therefore, deny that there is something truly beautiful in this word, it is the essence of human development, of that motivation that we should all receive from those who are or work with us.

Feedback, the art of assertiveness

Experts in motivational psychology know that Few things can be scarier than someone giving bad feedback. The effects of poor reinforcement or incomplete or unhelpful reinforcement can be disastrous. Students in a classroom with a poorly prepared teacher know this from examples. The employees of an organization with an ineffective leader also know it and we even know it ourselves with our emotional relationships.

Because feedback is above all a competition. Designates the skillful ability of a sender to collect information about someone and broadcast it in such a way that the receiver receives it with positivity and inspiration..

Let’s look at more data below to better understand this concept.

What is feedback?

Feedback is a phenomenon that occurs in the communication process. The sender provides an objective opinion to a receiver about his or her performance, behavior or specific evidence. Feedback should not be limited to just informing. The purpose is to promote progress, it is to correct positively to inspire and promote motivation.It is better to point out both errors or weaknesses and strengths and focus on progress, always offering tools or advice that can help or improve. The central idea is the following: Point out to the person what they do well, then point out how they could improve and improve it.Communication must always be assertive, respectful and empathetic.

It’s not feedback?

Feedback should not stop at showing the person what they have done wrong.If we limit ourselves to correcting or highlighting the failure, the person only perceives the negative imprint. In this case, only two things can happen: the sender is blocked or refuses to listen. In either case, the result is the same: there is no progress. On the other hand, Staying only on positive reinforcement is not synonymous with feedback either. Telling a child that he is doing well, repetitively and without adding new information, will not allow him to reach that zone of proximal development that Vygotsky told us about. If we give him clues to improve, also encouraging self-confidence , let’s improve your potential and effort capacity.

How can we give good feedback?

The good feedback It must achieve something essential: an advance, a progress, an improvement. Achieving this sensational magic in a work group, in our students, children or even in our emotional relationship, requires appropriate strategies. Let’s see now what are the keys to take into account

It would be a good idea to accumulate concrete evidence of what we are going to communicate to that person. It is not worth staying with “you are doing this well or you are doing that wrong.” Let’s be rigorous and exact in what we want to highlight.Take your mood into account when giving a feedback. The objective is to motivate and correct positively. Therefore, if we are having a bad day or if our motivation is minimal, it is better to find another time. When it comes to giving a feedback, The “sandwich” strategy is very useful. First we highlight something good about the person, then we point out what they do not do well and finally, we offer improvement strategies.Likewise, it is important to remember that when offering feedback there are a series of words that are prohibited. Namely: always, never and but. These terms are not useful and may create discomfort or contradiction.Let’s be very specific, direct and assertive.

In conclusion. We are sure that right now, more than one situation comes to mind in which someone gave us a bad feedback or a good feedback. This competition, although it originates from the business world, actually nourishes infinite social scenarios.. Being skillful when using it, feeling empowered to allow others to learn or be open to other points of view is something that we should all know how to apply effectively.

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