Consulting Journal: Techniques

Techniques: Getting feedback

by David Blakey

The word 'feedback' needs a new definition for consulting. And the advice you got about not asking closed questions doesn't apply if you really want to get feedback.

[Monday 16 February 2004]

How it began

The word feedback has an interesting history. It started in electronics, as the ‘return of part of the output of a system to the input as a means towards improved quality or self-correction of error’, according to Chambers English Dictionary. It was adopted by biologists to describe a process that is modified by receiving data back about its effects. Much of our physical behaviour depends upon this biochemical feedback.

The electronic meaning has a particular use in acoustics. It generally means the howl that is produced by a public address system when it receives and amplifies its own output. This form of feedback implies that there is a loop.

How it developed

The word feedback later developed an additional meaning. According to Fowler, it meant ‘information about or reponse to an investigation’, and Fowler gives the example of ‘some useful feedback from journalists in the area’.

In electronics and biology, feedback is a noun that describes a process. The later additional meaning - ‘feedback from journalists’ - is a noun that describes the information.

What it means today

Today, feedback is used generally to describe any comments sent back to the origin. A website may ask for ‘feedback’ from its visitors. An e-book may ask for ‘feedback’ from its readers.

I dislike this use of the word. I prefer that feedback means the process of sending back information, rather than the information that is sent back. I also prefer it to mean a process that is initiated by the source rather than the receiver.

Consider what feedback means in electronics and biology. It is not just a random stimulus that occurs as a result of some event. When the source transmits a signal to the receiver, it does so with the intention that the receiver will transmit some part of the signal back. The source can then take some further action depending on the presence or the nature of that feedback.

My definition

On websites, you may imagine that feedback can result from a link to your email address. In my definition, this is wrong. In my definition, feedback does not even result from a form containing radio buttons and checkboxes. To me, feedback is automatic. My best definition of feedback is a signal that is sent back to the origin by the receiver without any conscious effort by the receiver. The receiver does not have to click and then compose an email. The receiver does not have to fill out a form and submit it.

Asking closed questions

In human interactions, you can best receive feedback by asking closed questions. I know that a lot of training for managers and consultants states that you should ask open questions whenever possible. That advice works if you want answers. It does not work if you want feedback.

Here's a situation. The consultant asks ‘Tell me what you think about our services.’ That's a pretty open question. The client may make some facial expressions before answering, but you will not be able to interpret them. Even when you hear their answer, you may be unable to interpret their expressions, as you will not know what they were actually thinking. If they frowned and looked unhappy before they answered ‘I like them very much’, it may be because they were recalling the poor service of one of your competitors before they considered how much better your service is.

Now imagine asking ‘Do you like the way we work?’ You have focused the client's attention onto giving a positive or negative answer to your question. They are more likely to consider only the immediate context of your question: the way that you work. They are less likely to give time to considering your competitors, as that is beyond the immediate context of your question. You can be reasonably sure that their expressions and body language are in response to that context. That's how you will get feedback.

It is really like a lie-detector. Lie-detectors work best when the subject is asked direct questions with a clearly defined context. You can detect reactions better if you ask closed questions.

When you plan an interview with a client, work out whether you want an answer to a question or a reaction to it. Then plan your questions, mixing open with closed questions, so that you get the results you want.

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