JD Growth | Ep 4: How to receive feedback in design review | 5 tips

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Tip 1: Apply FRAMEWORK when receiving feedback

You can follow this classic structure to organize should-have information when replying to the giver.

Aston Sanderson, author of “Small Talk" once said, “Being a good listener is extremely hard”. Indeed! It is just not only hearing what the other is saying but also absorbing it in, processing it, and comprehending it.
By giving your full attention to what the other person is saying and remaining fully engaged with he/she (show your language to signal that you are listening attentively), you will be able to pick up details that will be valuable to improve your design.

Whatever feedback comes to you, show your appreciation toward it. Because those that can give you feedback are the ones who listen carefully to what you presented and want to assist you to succeed with a better design solution.

<aside> ☝ Example

💁🏻‍♂️ “That's a great point. I overlook it during my research.”
💁🏻‍♂ ️*“Thank you for your input."*
💁🏻‍♂️ “Appreciate your comment. That is a very helpful perspective coming from a business standpoint” </aside>

If you are not following the person’s idea, kindly ask for clarification. It’s always better to get it right the first time and resolve the ambiguity rather than to overlook it afterwards.

<aside> ☝ Example

💁🏻‍♂️ If you are not catching up with what they are saying => *“Sorry, I’m not following you, could you please share again?”*️️️
💁🏻‍♂️ If the person gives you information that never comes to your attention before. => “It would be helpful if you can share with me some background about what you just said”
💁🏻‍♂️ If you are not sure you understand it correctly, try to reframe it from your perspective and double-check again with them => “Correct me if I get you wrong. You just talked about … The problem here is …. Is that correct?” </aside>

Not every single piece of input needs to be taken and not every feedback with suggesting items needs to take action after that.
Always link back to the main goal of the review session to guide you on what feedback is valid for your design and what's not to help you navigate forward.

<aside> ☝ Example

💁🏻‍♂ ️If you are looking for different angles for the information architecture and someone tells you that your design needs more colour => Remind people of the goal and be straight but polite. => “Sorry we are not addressing it right now, but it will be considered in the next phase. We need more inputs on the overall IA, but about the visual wise."
💁🏻‍♂️ If people just throw ideas => Thank them but don't make any promise that you will apply them => “Thanks for all the ideas. I like them a lot. I will try to see if it works" </aside>

Once you have a list of what you’re going to do next, let’s move forward with your action plan.
The best way to keep aligned with people whom you are working with is to socialize with them all your next steps and their results.