Giving/Receiving Feedback, a few tips and tricks

6 min read

Deviation Actions

TheCritiquables's avatar
Published:
274 Views
Good day, traveler and welcome in our humble corner. We are TheCritiquables and wish to help you with whatever quest you may be on.
Do not hesitate to ask our help, for we well know how hard any chosen path can be. Take a drink and tell us of your issues, only then may a problem be solved in peace and quietness


So, here are a few tips and tricks for giving feedback and getting. We all know how tricky it can be to both give and get feedback. This journal off course aren't absolute, they may or may not work for you personally, but for some it might be handy if you don't know how to start.

First, how do you start to give feedback?
You can either first read the description and watch the work for it.
Some people prefer to read the work first, so they can comment on it using the description and see if anything popped out immediately without using the description as a guide.
Either way is good, as long as it works for you personally.

Secondly, no work is EVER completely bad, so whatever your opinion, first state something you liked about the piece.
This can be certain points in the story, the flow of words, the chosen words. It could even be somebody's grammar if you know English isn't somebody's native language.

For a third point:
If you see something that could be improved, don't say "change that because it's stupid" or "It's wrong to put it like that."
Go for something more like "Personally I feel that you could do better in that line/those lines. Perhaps try something like <insert idea here>
Can you already see how different it sounds? Nobody can use your feedback if you haven't got a clue what can be done to improve it.

The fourth advise would be to alternate between good and lesser points in a story, poem or what ever it is you are giving feedback on
Try doing something like: good - lesser - lesser - lesser - good.
It can be rather depressing if you only read "negativity" in somebody's comments and it's certainly not encouraged. Don't just tell people what they did wrong, also remember to tell them what they did right! They might not be the best artist out there, but nobody stinks. For some sharing their work, even if it's on something like the internet, is a huge thing.

There were the tips for those who give  feedback, now a few things for those who get it.
First, if something in unclear in the feedback, ask about it. You really don't want to know how many pointless internet wars there have been (yes, people went as far as using caps lock ;)) because of a misunderstanding.

Second, reactions of people can evoke emotions. Do not respond on somebody when strong negative emotions are ruling you, especially when this means anger. You won't be able to see reason, and perhaps you are right and they are wrong. That however doesn't mean you have the right to be rude or something like that.

Thirdly, you don't have to agree with people. They might not see it your way, that happens. In that case you can do two things:
1) you jump to the first point and start an online war.
2) you thank them kindly for their feedback and walk away from it.
It may sound simple enough when you read it here, experience however tells differently.

So, let's hope this helps and if something isn't clear (enough) just leave a comment and we'll try to clarify :)

© 2012 - 2024 TheCritiquables
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Quippers-United's avatar
I like your journal, but I disagree with it. First of all, I've seen stuff that's completely bad. It's called love poetry (just kidding, but seriously folks, be careful with that genre). I also think that criticism should be manipulated depending on the writer. Some people are so clearly into the writing thing that you should be completely straight with them. You can do that without sounding like an ass. Remember, if these people are into writing, they don't want you to dilly-dally around the point.

That being said, some writers, particularly those who submit very little, have fragile egos. In this case, you have to go with the "super empathetic" answer. Be careful, though, there's a fine line between being empathetic and condescending.

As for general guidelines, a lot of what's said in the journal works, but I think your feedback also should depend on who you're talking to. Know your audience.

Sorry for being "that guy." I'm still adjusting to having been born (I mean, how messed up was THAT?)