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TRANSCRIPT: When you receive feedback, one of the first things you’ll do—often without realising—is make judgements about its qualities. For example, you’ll form impressions about what a comment means, how it was said, or who it came from. These judgements can have a powerful effect on how useful you feel the feedback is, and whether you then decide to do anything with it at all.
Suppose you were told: “It doesn’t seem like you have checked your work very thoroughly before submitting.” That comment might feel unfair at first glance. You might think the person giving you this feedback is being overly critical, or that they don’t understand the effort you have invested. But here’s the key point: how you interpret this comment can sometimes become a barrier. If you decide it’s unfair, or you assume the person was being unkind, then you might ignore the feedback altogether, even if it could help you improve.
In contrast, if you interpret the same comment as potentially accurate, constructive, or even supportive, you’re more likely to perceive it as useful and make positive changes. So, it’s not just the feedback itself that matters—but how and what you read into it.
These judgements also apply to the person who gave you the feedback. Do you perceive them as credible, informed, and caring? Or do you assume they’re biased, uninformed, or overly picky? Often, we make these judgements based on very little information—especially with anonymous feedback or when we don’t know the person well—and these judgements can affect how seriously we take what’s being said.
That’s why it’s helpful to ask yourself: What assumptions am I making? Am I seeing this as negative because of how it was phrased? Is it possible that this comment could help me, even if I don’t like how it’s worded?
You don’t need to pretend all feedback is perfect or equally useful—but being more aware of your judgements gives you more control. Once you’re aware of them, you can test them. Try imagining a different perspective. What if the feedback was well-intentioned? What if this person genuinely wants you to succeed?
Effectively judging the qualities of feedback and its value means looking past your first impressions and assumptions. Sometimes, the biggest barrier to learning from feedback is simply the story we tell ourselves about it.
Practice Activity
Practice Activity
