Make your praise worth hearing

A new colleague has led their first team briefing. They kept the discussion on schedule and summarised decisions clearly, but they moved through the final action points so quickly that nobody knew who was responsible for what.

You say, “Great job! Keep it up.” It sounds positive, but in Useful Feedback, Not Flattery, your challenge is to make encouragement specific enough to help someone improve.

1. Find what worked. Replace vague praise with two precise observations about the briefing.
2. Identify one improvement. Explain the action-point problem without attacking the colleague’s ability.
3. Offer a practical suggestion. Combine your praise and improvement into a natural, supportive response of no more than four sentences.

Extra challenge: Rewrite your feedback for someone who asks you to be more direct. What can change without making the message unkind?