It’s essential to get fast and high-quality feedback from your colleagues. It improves performance and increases the results of the whole team. But how do you make sure that the debate doesn’t turn into a report or a showdown? Workplace debates are very different from the ones we are used to at school or university. There, we had debate topics that were connected with our social position and views.
You could ask your team for assistance in writing a research paper, and you could practice your performance together. In work, we debate another situation. It’s about another person’s work, and employees can share only their opinions. So you should not only defend your position but also not offend your colleague. We will tell you about how to prepare for and conduct debates in this article.
1. Prepare
For remote teams, start by creating a new collaborative document. If everyone has the same templates for notes, it will be easier to analyze the results. Send it to participants along with any other materials they need to review before the meeting. Prepare a digital version of the materials and be prepared to send links or display a screen during the debate.
For in-person debates, send participants the documents they will need to review in advance of the meeting. Prepare a magnetic whiteboard, markers, and post-its. Print the debate materials as large as possible to make them easier to read and take notes on.
2. Lay the foundation
At the beginning of the meeting, do the following.
- Briefly explain what you are working on
- Explain why you need feedback and how you will use it
- Outline what aspects you want to get feedback on.
3. Collect feedback.
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Have participants review your work and leave feedback. It can be pointers to good aspects, suggestions to change or delete something, or any questions.
Ask them to work directly from the source material using markers, stickers, or leaving comments. Or collect feedback using one of the suggested templates.
4. Discuss.
Review the team’s feedback. Highlight recurring themes and discuss how you understood feedback to avoid possible misunderstandings.
Discuss the reasons for certain decisions at work. Be open to new ideas and improvements that the team suggests.
5. Complete the script
Thank you all for your participation and grant reviews. Tell us about your work and when you plan to hold the next meeting.
Follow-up:
Review the feedback.
After the scenario, take time to review and organize the team’s feedback on your own. If questions arise, discuss them with the participants.
Repeat the scenario
When the feedback is complete, consider holding another debate session for further work optimization.
Options:
Leave the room.
During the feedback-gathering phase, the speaker should leave the room. It will allow participants to focus on the feedback rather than discussing the work with the speaker.
Hold debates regularly
Establish a culture of regular feedback sharing within the team. Put stand-up debates on the calendar so that once a week (or every two weeks), employees can discuss their performance.
Notes:
The debate should be quick to get a lot of feedback in a short amount of time. Send out reading materials in advance, such as client information or competitive analysis.
Invite those who are familiar with your work and those who are not. New people can bring fresh ideas.
Recording feedback in silence allows for quiet reflection and information from more humble team members. That way, everyone can focus on theiк opinion rather than the discussion.
In the feedback, highlight successful points and make specific recommendations for improvement.
Getting a lot of critical feedback can be difficult. Remember that they don’t apply to you personally. Their authors wanted to help improve your work.
