Provide constructive feedback

Oral presentations are a common assessment task at Monash. Sometimes as part of these assessments, you’ll be asked to give constructive feedback to your peers.

Constructive feedback allows a presenter to assess their performance and build on their original work. It’s realistic, specific, future-oriented, and contains clear improvements or observations that the recipient can act upon.

What does constructive feedback look like?

Constructive feedback doesn’t just have to be about the things you didn’t like. You can give it on your favourite things, too!

Constructive feedback addresses specific elements of the work you’ve observed. The best type of feedback also includes information on how the element can be improved.

What does constructive feedback not look like?

Constructive feedback is intended to be useful and beneficial to the recipient. Therefore, it shouldn’t include:

cruel or hurtful comments
comments targeted at elements the recipient can't improve (e.g. a feature of Microsoft PowerPoint)
broad statements about the whole tone or message of a presentation
unclear or vague comments

Check your understanding View

Six tips for giving excellent feedback View

	1. Be a mindful audience member Pay attention to the thoughts you have about the presentation and what you are learning from it. If something catches your interest, impresses you, or confuses you, make a note!
	2. Identify the specifics Look through the things you’ve noted down and work out exactly why you paid attention. Ask yourself: Was it visual? Did you notice the size, colour, or position of something? Was it verbal? Was an explanation hard to understand, or was a comment funny or clever? Was it well-planned? Did the information arrive in a logical sequence that made connections obvious, and without overwhelming you?
	3. Consider the impact After you’ve worked out exactly what it is you want to comment on, think about how it affected your experience as an audience member. Ask yourself: Did it convince you that the speaker was telling you something important? Did it help you understand something later in the presentation? Did it make a complicated concept simpler to understand?
	4. Consider - could it be changed? If you have an idea of what would have improved your experience as an audience member, that’s important! We’re not asking you to solve every problem for the presenter, but explaining your preferences can make your feedback much clearer. For example, If you needed more time to look at a figure, suggest leaving it visible for longer. If there was too much text on a slide, suggest using less text or splitting it into several slides.
	5. Be polite Phrasing your feedback can feel uncomfortable, particularly if it is about something you didn’t like. Remember to link your feedback to your experience. If you’re stuck on how to say something, try to fill in the blanks in the following sentence: I [liked/disliked] the way you … because it made your presentation… and I [could/could not] … Don’t say something you wouldn’t like to hear about your own work!
	6. Expect follow-up questions If the person receiving your feedback really wants to understand it, they might ask for more details. This means you’ve said something useful! A question about your feedback shouldn’t feel like a disagreement or a rejection.