Cheryl’s Tips For Stress-Free Living: Giving Feedback

By Cheryl Jones-Reardon | Last updated Feb 28, 2010, 5:46 pm

This is the last of my February blog articles which have focused on having a healthy heart more from the emotional perspective. Emotional wellness has to do with being skillful in our communications to create positive relationships.

Have you been in a situation recently where you needed to give feedback or offer constructive criticism to someone?

This is part of our daily life whether we name it as such or not. We play this role with our family members, friends, co-workers, and sometimes even strangers. Being able to give feedback or constructive criticism to another person takes care, mindfulness, and skill.

Cheryl Jones-Reardon, who holds a master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Connecticut and a certificate in spirituality from St. Joseph College, has joined the Watchdog team.

Here are the steps you can take to create a positive outcome:

Ask yourself what your intention is. Is it to be helpful or harmful? Only when the intention is truly to help another person or to improve a situation, is it appropriate to give feedback or offer constructive criticism.

Write down what you plan to say and even practice saying it a few times. This will help you keep your focus if things feel out of control.

When possible, schedule a time to meet to have this discussion. Give the person time to prepare. Sometimes they will be curious or worried and want to discuss the issue immediately. Only do this if you feel ready.

When you meet, sit down, place both feet on the ground and follow your breath in and out a few times. Remind yourself that your intention is to help this person grow or to improve a situation.

When you begin sharing, start with something positive. Identify something that you appreciate about this person or something he/she is doing well.

Share what you see as the area that needs improvement with respect and care. I like to call this their “growing edge.”

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