How to Make Better Use of Feedback to Improve a Skill Faster

Improve your ability to receive feedback

When learning a skill, it is essential to get feedback about how you are doing. Only then is it possible to correct and improve.

Imagine trying to putt a golfball while blindfolded. You could be hitting stroke after stroke, but have no idea of how close you are to make the putt. Was the shot too hard? Too soft? Did it go to the right or the left? It would be impossible to tell.

Under such conditions, it’s almost impossible to improve, and no matter how many hours you practise, you are unlikely to get any better.

Improvement depends on fast, clear feedback after each try. By seeing the results of our actions, we can gradually adjust our behaviour so that it gets closer to the desired goal. Feedback directs our attention to specific details that need improvement, which we can use to improve the way we practice.

Learn to listen

“My greatest skill was being teachable. I was like a sponge. Even if I thought my coaches were wrong, I tried to listen and learn something.” — Michael Jordan

When someone gives you feedback, they are trying to help you improve. But it may not always feel that way. It can sound more like an attack on the way you’re doing things. Rather than listening to the advice, we often become defensive and try to justify the way we are already doing something.

This will not help you improve. It’s much more beneficial not to take feedback personally. By responding to what’s being said rather than reacting angrily, you may get an explanation of what they mean. Ask for specific advice on how and what to do differently and ask questions to clarify what they mean. By becoming a better listener, you can concentrate on how the feedback will enable you to perform better.

People with more experience can help you see things you weren’t aware of. We can only learn when we realise why and what we are doing wrong. When we are beginners in a skill, we often don’t know where to look, which makes it challenging to improve and if you don’t know what contributes to better performance, you can’t expect to learn anything. Listening to people with more experience can substantially shorten the time it takes to learn a new skill.

Believe that change is possible

Good skill learners believe that it is possible to improve and that they are responsible for their actions, errors and results. They set specific goals of what they want to improve and think of ways to achieve them. When something does not work, they believe it relates to particular elements of their performance and the exercises they have chosen. By changing their actions, they find a way that works better.

In contrast, average skill learners may enter a situation with no clear idea of how their actions contribute to reaching their goal. When things don’t work, they often attribute problems to forces outside of their control. As a result, they have little knowledge of how to adapt and perform better next time.

People who are good at learning skills typically have a growth mindset, which means that they believe we can improve any skill. This means that they are more likely to search for feedback that can help them improve their performance. When you have a growth mindset, you see feedback as useful to help you perform better. You start to crave input from as many people as possible because you realise it’s the fastest way to learn and improve.

Actively seek and embrace honest feedback

When you believe that change is possible, you are more likely to actively seek feedback about how you are doing and how to improve. It’s crucial to embrace honest feedback, even if it may shatter the illusion you have of being quite good at something.

The feedback can come from the task itself. When, for instance, throwing a ball, you can observe the results of your actions. Or it can come from a coach who is watching you from the outside. All the best performers in the world still have coaches to help them improve every day.

An experienced coach can help you realise mistakes that you perhaps didn’t even know you were making. And if you’re not aware that you are doing something wrong, you can’t fix it. Accepting objective feedback about your performance is the first step towards improvement.

Know what you are trying to improve

If you aim to improve everything at once, it is difficult to improve anything at all. You are much more likely to develop when you focus on more specific sub-skills. By focusing on something specific, it’s easier to evaluate and get feedback on how you are doing.

When improving a skill, it is useful to prioritise the errors you make. Those that are most important to correct to improve performance should become your focus.

A good teacher directs your attention to a few things at a time. I especially remember this from learning to dance salsa. Some teachers, even though they were excellent dancers, gave me feedback about so many things at a time that I felt overwhelmed. In contrast, an excellent teacher helps you direct your attention to improving one or two things at a time. We are only able to receive a limited amount of information at a time, so feedback should be limited to amounts the learner can use effectively.

Use the feedback

Receiving feedback is only useful if you reflect on it and plan an improved action. This can happen immediately, between practice sessions, or gradually over time. It is often beneficial to receive the same feedback several times. At first, you may not understand the full meaning of the advice. But as you hear it over and over, you may start to see what the coach or teacher meant to say.

You could, for instance, see another person who is not following the advice, and it leads to a mistake. As you start to understand, you will gradually begin to follow the advice. But you sometimes forget, especially if you’re in stressful situations. Over time, following the advice becomes automatic, and you no longer need to think actively about it. The action is automated. With the help of feedback, the action goes from being something you didn’t even realise was a thing, to becoming an automated action that you no longer need to think about while performing it.

What stops us from taking action on feedback

• Feedback is taken personally by the learner.
• The learner attributes problems to factors out of their control.
• The learner disputes the validity of the feedback and disagrees that a problem exists or with the proposed solutions.
• The learner mostly seems to be receptive to feedback but lacks urgency around finding a solution and is dismissive of the complexity of the problem and potential solutions.

When someone gives you feedback, they usually want to help you improve. But it may not feel that way, and we often choose to ignore it or not take any action. This approach does not lead to much improvement and takes away the whole purpose of feedback. If we are not planning to change based on the feedback we receive, there is not much point in receiving it at all.

Feedback, when given and received well, is powerful in increasing skills and motivation, and of immense value for your skill development. It helps us reflect on what we know and makes us see things that we weren’t aware of. Feedback is about the performance and not the person. It is not about making you feel better but making you do better.

Take home message

We can only improve a skill if we get feedback about how we are doing and take action towards a more desirable outcome.

Actively seek feedback about how you are doing, even if it suggests that you’re not as skilled as you thought you were.

Listen intently to maximise what you can learn when someone gives feedback.

Know what you’re trying to improve and focus on receiving feedback on specific parts of your practice.

Use feedback to improve your performance and to develop plans of how to practise next time.

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