Praise in Public, Correct in Private

Where you give feedback
matters as much
as what you say.

Praise someone in private,
and it lands.

Praise them in public,
and it lands
and lifts them
in front of the people
whose opinion they carry.

So say the good thing
where others can hear it.
Give the credit
loudly,
by name.

But correction
is different.

Correct someone in public
and they won't hear the lesson.
They'll only feel the eyes.
The message drowns
in the embarrassment.

Take the hard thing aside.
Say it quietly,
one to one,
where they can actually listen
instead of defend.

Same words,
completely different result,
just from choosing the room.

It's a small discipline.
Praise loud.
Correct quiet.

Get that right
and people trust your feedback,
because they know
you'll never make them small
in front of others.

That trust
is what makes the hard feedback
land at all.

– Asael Shinder