Getting useful feedback is an art.
As someone who has been building stuff for others to use for many years now, I’ve learned the following rules of feedback about the stuff I’m making:
- Watch what the person does. What they do speaks louder than what they say. It’s not because they’re intentionally misleading or virtue signaling. It’s because, as humans, we are good at compartmentalizing — so good we often fool ourselves — and bad at self-awareness.
- Ask good questions. Yes, there are dumb (or useless) questions. Good questions are specific, empathic, open-ended, and encourage detailed feedback. Bad questions are vague, leading, or closed-ended.
- Negative feedback is the most useful. If someone complains, it means they care. Caring is the most important part of feedback. It means you’re on the right track.
- Positive feedback might be useful, but you must consider the source and their motivation.
- Silence is feedback. It means the person(s) doesn’t care. Does that matter to you? Maybe not, but if that person is your direct target audience, you’re likely on the wrong track. Re-evaluate everything.
As it turns out, these rules are pretty good for soliciting feedback about anything.
