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Role-play: Giving Constructive Feedback to a Colleague
Speaking
Role-play
You are a team leader. Your colleague Defne has just given a presentation to a client, and her slides were overcrowded. You want to give her helpful, honest feedback in a friendly way.
Partner: "Hi, you wanted a quick word about the presentation? I thought it went reasonably well."
Your turn: Begin positively by praising her delivery and the clarity of her explanations before raising your concern.
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Model answer: It did, and I wanted to say first of all how confident you came across. Your explanations were clear and the client was clearly engaged. There's one area I thought we could look at together, though, if you don't mind.
Partner: "Of course. What did you have in mind?"
Your turn: Gently point out that the slides contained too much text and that people were reading rather than listening.
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Model answer: It's the slides, really. They were packed with text, so I suspect people were reading ahead instead of listening to you. Your spoken explanation was much stronger than the slides, which is a shame.
Partner: "Hmm, I did want to make sure I included all the details in case they asked questions."
Your turn: Acknowledge her reasoning and suggest a short handout for details with only key points on the slides.
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Model answer: That's a fair point, and I can see why you did it. Perhaps we could put the detail in a short handout and keep just three or four key points on each slide. That way you're covered if questions come up.
Partner: "That makes sense. Would you be willing to look over my slides before the next one?"
Your turn: Agree warmly and suggest a time to go through them together.
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Model answer: I'd be glad to. Why don't you send me a draft by Wednesday, and we can go through it together on Thursday morning? I'm sure it'll be even stronger next time.
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