8 Tips for Giving Better Creative Feedback
1. Give it
After spending so many hours working on your ideas, developing them, honing them, there is absolutely nothing worse than silence. Your idea goes into some black hole of no response. If an idea is killed with no feedback, that means no understanding, no learning, no growth. And anger festers. Creatives prefer shitty feedback to no feedback.
2. Realize it’s really hard
It is a truly difficult task to give creative feedback. Someone spends hours pouring their artistic soul into the work, then sets their baby down on the table. Over to you. Identify the good ideas, say something smart on each one that makes the work better. Then send the creatives out the door with clear understanding, feeling inspired. All knowing full well that creativity is totally subjective, so there are no real right and wrong answers.
3. Be the boss of the work first, the people second
Show you sincerely care about making what is in front of you better, not about flexing your power, stroking your ego, and being someone’s “boss.” The work is all that matters to you. That will keep people focused on the right things and convince them your feedback is not motivated by all that other crap.
4. Words matter
You can say something one way and get a horrible response. Say it another and get understanding and inspiration. Choose your words wisely.
5. Be properly prepared
Make sure you know what the assignment is, you ‘ve read the brief. Don’t show up late and wing it. Respect the amount of work that went into it by providing equally informed work on your end.
6. Be present
Don’t be multi-tasking, answering texts, reading emails. Your feedback loses any real impact as soon as you pay intermittent attention.
7. Show some enthusiasm
Ideas are the fun part, dig in, enjoy, build, bring some energy. Presenting to a dry, quiet, unenthused audience sucks.
8. Positive always beats negative
Your attitude is the filter your feedback goes through. If you’re honest and positive, the feedback will come out that way. If you’re judgmental and negative, the feedback will come out that way.
